Melissa Meehan, AAP
Police across Victoria will walk off the job for the first time in more than 20 years as their fight for a better pay deal intensifies.
Officers will leave their stations for 30-minute blocks as part of a series of stop-work meetings.
The strike action will begin at the police academy and Broadmeadows police station on Thursday. Dozens more are expected to be added at a rate of two stations each day.
Police are calling for a 24 per cent pay rise over the next four years and the introduction of 8.5-hour shifts.
In May, an in-principle agreement was reached with officers securing a shift to a nine-day fortnight and a 16 per cent pay rise over four years.
However, police union members voted against the deal.
The latest wave of industrial action is an attempt to drag the government and Victoria Police back to the bargaining table after talks stalled.
In a memo sent to members, seen by AAP, The Police Association described the action as a “breaking point”.
It urged its members to “stand together, stop work and support each other” and asks them to “do less for 30 minutes”.
“The action will send a clear message to Victoria Police and the government that you, the members, want them to roll up their sleeves, return to the bargaining table and show some care and concern for your pay and working conditions,” the union told its members.
In an official statement to AAP, the association said the rolling work stoppages would target stations in both metropolitan Melbourne and regional areas.
“Our members are struggling financially, and they are struggling at the workplace due to the pressure they’re under,” union secretary Wayne Gatt said.
“More than a thousand vacancies, a worrying attrition rate and hundreds of police off on long-term sick leave, means they’re doing more work than they ever have for less.”
Mr Gatt said Victorians shouldn’t be concerned about their safety during the strike action and officers would still respond to triple-zero calls.
The long-running pay battle is now before Fair Work, which has been asked by Victoria Police to intervene.
A Victorian government spokesperson said any planned industrial action was a matter for the police union, but said the government was “grateful for their vital service to the state”.
Victoria Police for comment was contacted for comment.
