Victoria’s mobile speed camera operators to strike over safety fears

Victorian mobile speed camera operators will walk off the job during the peak holiday period amid a bitter dispute over driver safety after a spate of physical attacks.

Mobile speed camera operators will walk off the job on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day amid a bitter dispute into driver safety after a spate of physical attacks.

Roadside camera operators have been instructed to take the two days off work as tensions between the Community and Public Sector Union and operator Serco hit boiling point.

They say recent attacks on the drivers and their vehicles and the inaction that has followed is the main reason for the strike action, which is due to take place as thousands of motorists hit the road for the busy holiday period.

There have been almost 350 reported incidents against operators in the past 13 months across the state, with more almost 20 recorded for December this year alone.

Just last week, a driver and his vehicle were set upon by up to four offenders on Royal Parade in Parkville, with the front and rear windscreens smashed in a late-night attack.

Mobile speed camera operators are set to walk off the job for two days amid safety fears. Picture: Monique Harmer

The 36-year-old driver was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries while his Ford was towed away.

Video from another attack showed a bottle being thrown from a Nissan Patrol, smashing the operator’s windscreen as the driver sat inside the vehicle.

Julie McKeown, the union’s team leader, said the plea to Serco to act on safety was simply not getting through.

“The head has just been placed firmly in the sand on safety,” she said.

The strike action comes as members say their request for a pay rise – which was met with a $1.70 per hour increase – was not enough, and failed to address a series of other issues.

Members want further compensation to combat cost of living pressures, working in isolation and phone allowances.

Operators have already begun alerting motorists to speed cameras by placing warning signs near the cameras.