To Victoria, where the government insists the state’s police force will not be offered further pay deals unless the industrial relations watchdog intervenes, as officers begin rolling strikes.
For the first time in more than 20 years, police will walk off the job over the stalled negotiations.
Officers at the police academy in Glen Waverley and Broadmeadows police station will leave their posts for 30-minute blocks on Thursday as part of a series of stop-work meetings. Dozens more sites are expected to be added at a rate of two stations each day as the union tries to drag the government and Victoria Police back to the bargaining table.
Police want a 24 per cent pay rise over the next four years and the introduction of 8.5-hour shifts.
Victorian police members walk out on strike at the Broadmeadows police station.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
In May, an in-principle agreement was reached with officers for a nine-day fortnight and a 16 per cent pay rise over four years, but police union members voted against the deal. The long-running pay battle is now before the Fair Work Commission after the force asked it to intervene.
Treasurer and Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said the government would attempt to justify their “fair and generous” offer before the commission, which is expected to make a ruling by the end of the year.
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Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt warned other states were attracting prospective officers with more lucrative pay and conditions.
“What will we say when people migrate north to brighter and better-paid careers in NSW and Queensland?” Gatt told Nine’s Today on Thursday.
NSW officers will become the best paid in the nation following a “generational” pay deal that lifts wages by at least 25 per cent, while Queensland Police offers a $20,000 relocation payment for recruits.
AAP