A mobile speed camera operator has been injured after his car was attacked by five men in a Melbourne street.
The blue SUV, fixed with traffic cameras in its rear window, was operating on Nicholson Street at Coburg in the early hours of Friday morning when it was attacked.
Police said the men jumped on the car and threw rocks and a rubbish bin at it, shattering the back, front and side windows, before fleeing on foot.
The 36-year-old operator, a St Albans man who works for government subcontractor Serco, drove away and was treated for minor cuts.
Investigators have released images of his alleged attackers, who remain on the run.
The Community and Public Sector Union’s spokesperson, Julian Kennelly, said the operator was sitting in the front passenger seat of the vehicle during what he alleged was a “horrific planned assault”.
Windows on the car were smashed during the attack. Photograph: CPSU Victoria
Operators stopped work on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as part of a pay dispute with Serco, which runs the state’s mobile safety cameras.
Kennelly said the company remained “firmly with its head in the sand on operator safety” and was refusing to talk to the union.
“Operators are in a real life David and Goliath battle with the biggest multinational company in the world who are on a Victorian government contract,” he said.
“Workers need a hero from the government to step up for them. Someone needs to act before there’s a death.”
A 36-year-old operator was also injured on 21 December, when his traffic-camera car was attacked by four people on Royal Parade in Parkville.
Serco has been contacted for comment.
2024-01-05 03:20:59
Link from www.theguardian.com
