Mobile speed camera staff are demanding action from the state government after another operator was attacked overnight.
Police say a group of five offenders targeted the car while the operator was inside, as it was parked on Nicholson Street in Coburg in Melbourne’s north, just after midnight on Friday morning.
The group tossed items at the vehicle, believed to be rocks, smashing the windows.
One of the assailants climbed onto the bonnet of the car before breaking through the windscreen.
The 36-year-old St Albans operator attempted to climb from the passenger side to the driver’s side, suffering cuts on his hands and arms.
The assailants eventually fled, and the operator was able to drive away from the scene and get help.
The attacks come just days after Victoria’s mobile speed camera operators walked off the job on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, as fears for their safety continue to grow, and negotiations with their employer for better working conditions fail.
Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) said not enough was being done to improve their safety, pay and working conditions.
CPSU spokesman Julian Kennelly reinstated calls for the Victorian Government to step in and take the contract, allowing Victoria Police to offer operators protections such as police signage.
“We want a hero to step in, hopefully the state government, to force some sensible talks around the safety of these operators at work, about their pay and conditions,” Mr Kennelly told Sky News Australia on Friday.
“It’s a much better operation for us to have unsworn officers directly employed by Victoria Police.
“If it’s actually about road safety, and not revenue from speeding motorists, then this should not be a problem for the government to step in and take the contract back.”
Another incident occurred just days before Christmas, where a 36-year-old speed camera operator was attacked by a group of people near Royal Parade in Parkville.
Mr Kennelly highlighted the similarities between the Coburg and Parkville attacks.
“Very, very similar characteristics to royal parade…” he said.
‘Whether it’s the same five offenders, or whether it’s another copycat, it’s a disturbing trend for us that these operators are placed in these vulnerable positions by the company Serco and are pretty much left to defend themselves against an attack of this scale.”
“We don’t need a death out of this to provoke a response – they need to be acting now.”
(SKY NEWS)
