Parking ranger lifts the lid on how they’re ‘bullied and harassed’ to meet daily quotas – and claims they don’t get pay rises unless they hit their targets
- Parking rangers claim they have to meet daily quotas of 17 to 21 tickets in a shift
- Anonymous City of Sydney ranger said his team were stressed and ‘burnt-out’
- They claimed quota was still in effect even when vehicles were parked correctly
- The council admits they have performance expectations related to tickets issued
- But spokeswoman denied there is a specific quota of tickets expected per shift
Parking rangers claim they are being ‘bullied’ and ‘harassed’ by a council to issue 21 tickets each shift – and are refused pay rises if they don’t reach their target.
An anonymous City of Sydney ranger claimed the threat of salary punishment and public abuse had left the council’s 150-strong team of inspectors stressed and burnt-out.
The employee claimed even more pressure was being put on rangers because the quota was still in effect even if all the cars on their beat were parked legally.
Parking rangers claim they are being ‘bullied’ and ‘harassed’ by a council to issue 21 tickets each shift – and are refused pay rises if they don’t reach their target (stock image)
While other councils base their performance indicators on whether rangers are checking their area thoroughly, the ranger said City of Sydney only go by the quantity of tickets issued.
‘We’re deflated, stressed, burnt out, copping it on all fronts, internal flak in addition to public flak,’ the ranger told news.com.au.
They claimed the benchmark for sub-par performance was 25 per cent below the expectation of between 17 and 21 tickets a shift.
The council, encompassing the Harbour City’s CBD as well as inner-city suburbs like Surry Hills and Alexandria, admitted staff who regularly totalled fines lower than their colleagues could expect to be put under performance review.
But council officials denied having a specific quota of tickets per shift.
‘If there is no reasonable explanation they are put on performance improvement plans,’ a City of Sydney spokeswoman said.
‘Rangers are not required to issue a certain number of PINs, nor are they required to monitor streets and parking more than is reasonable.’
The organisation representing the rangers, United Services Union, said the council’s stance was contradictory.
They said in a letter last month it was not possible for the council to have no specific number in mind for tickets per shift, and then to also admit productivity is measured by the amount of notices issued.
An anonymous City of Sydney ranger said the threat of salary punishment and public abuse had left the council’s 150-strong team of inspectors stressed and burnt-out (stock image)
Parking rangers in the City of Sydney council area have sent a grievance notice to the council calling for the number of tickets issued not to be linked to performance assessments.
The council spokeswoman said they were now working with rangers to resolve their concerns.
It comes after it was revealed earlier this month inner-city Melbourne councils have collected a combined $157.5million in parking fees and fines in the last financial year.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted City of Sydney council for further comment.