Single officer stations to walk off job

Victoria’s 100 single officer stations will all stop working for half an hour on Wednesday, as negotiations over a new pay deal remain unresolved.

All 100 single officer stations across Victoria will stop working for 30 minutes at 2:30pm on Wednesday, over Victoria Police and the State Government’s ‘unwillingness’ to negotiate a fair pay and conditions deal.

The Police Association Victoria is seeking a six per cent annum pay increase for its members over the next four years, and negotiations had been ongoing for months before Victoria Police last month asked the Fair Work Commission to take over the unresolved dispute.

“These members are pillars of their community and on Wednesday they are banding together to say ‘enough is enough’. They deserve to be paid fairly for the important and challenging work they do for regional communities across Victoria,” TPAV secretary Wayne Gatt said.

The single officer stations look after 60 per cent of Victoria’s landmass collectively, with the TPAV urging Victoria Police and the Government to return to the negotiating table to ensure a fair outcome for its members.

“We have more than 1000 vacancies across the state, over 700 of our broken members on long-term sick leave and yet, our members are left in limbo because the Government and Victoria Police are trying to run down the clock on a fair pay and conditions deal and shift the responsibility off to a third party,” said Mr Gatt.

“In regional Victoria, when you need a police officer, they’re there. It’s time for Victoria Police and the Government to show our members that someone is there for them when they need assistance.”