Dozens of Victorian national parks and campgrounds are set to close over the King’s Birthday long weekend as Parks Victoria staff prepare to take industrial action in an escalating pay dispute with the Allan Government.

As reported by the Herald Sun (↗), up to 100 Parks Victoria employees are currently expected to walk off the job, with union organisers warning that number could increase if no agreement is reached before a Thursday deadline.

The industrial action stems from a dispute over ranger wages, with unions arguing that Parks Victoria staff are being paid less than comparable workers elsewhere within the public sector. The Australian Workers’ Union is seeking a binding review of ranger pay, a demand the state government has so far declined to accept.

The latest action follows more than 12 months of enterprise bargaining between Parks Victoria and the Australian Services Union, which says the agency has maintained its original offer of a 3 per cent wage increase. The union argues the offer falls short of pay rises secured by other Victorian public sector workers, including nurses and teachers, who are receiving increases of more than 7 per cent. 

Parks Victoria staff staged a one-hour stop-work rally in May, the agency’s first protected industrial action since 2012, and warned that further action, including park closures, could occur if negotiations failed to deliver an improved outcome.

The planned strike is expected to affect a broad range of Parks Victoria operations, with participating staff including rangers and operational workers responsible for maintaining park infrastructure, conducting rescues, responding to emergencies, protecting wildlife, and ensuring public access to parks.

According to the Herald Sun (↗), the list of affected sites has expanded significantly beyond the initially impacted Colac Otways region. Additional parks and campgrounds across Victoria, from Echuca in the state’s north to Wilsons Promontory in the southeast, were added after talks between the union and Parks Victoria on Wednesday failed to produce a resolution.

The closures are expected to impact some of Victoria’s most popular destinations during one of the busiest camping and travel weekends of the year.

Parks Victoria (↗) and union representatives remain in negotiations ahead of the planned industrial action.

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