Croydon orders CEOs to issue PCNs or face disciplinary
Posted on Monday, October 27 @ 18:35:02 GMT by pulpsimon |
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Croydon Council has ordered traffic wardens to hand out a minimum amount of parking tickets or face disciplinary warnings.
The
council, which has in the past vehemently denied giving the attendants
targets, has had its cover blown by furious employees who are unhappy
with the "unfair" system.
Thanks to the whistleblowers, the Advertiser can reveal that targets
are given daily to its agency traffic wardens – forcing them, they say,
to resort to drastic measures in order to reach their quota.
And wardens employed directly by the council say they are also given daily targets.
An e-mail shown to the Advertiser revealed that agency attendants who use motorbikes are expected to hand out an average of:
2.2 tickets every hour
3 tickets per hour during weekly overtime,
3.8 tickets every hour on Sunday overtime
4.4 tickets per hour on Bank Holiday overtime.
Attendants on foot are ordered to hand out:
1.25 tickets every hour
1.6 tickets per hour during weekly overtime
2.3 tickets every hour on Sunday overtime
The council employs
2.5 tickets per hour on Bank Holiday overtime
In the e-mail, wardens are threatened with disciplinary action if they do not meet the council's demands.
It
reads: "Failure to meet the above targets on a weekly basis, without
reasonable reason, will result in a formal warning being issued."
Despite
this black and white proof, the council insists it does not set targets
– insisting the quotas are "performance indicators" instead.
These
are explained as "guidance given to agency staff on what is expected of
them if they hope to be eligible for any overtime working that may
become available."
But whatever the targets are called, some angry employees say they are sick of it.
One
whistleblower, who did not wish to be named, said: "They have been
giving targets all year. Everyone knows what's going on and they're not
happy about it.
"Our jobs are meant to be about keeping the traffic flowing, making sure there are no blockages for motorists.
"But it makes you feel like a bad person, because you're given the targets and you have to follow them."
Another anonymous worker said: "We've got families, responsibilities and mortgages, so we need our jobs, we need the money.
"We
have to face the public, and you get enough abuse without having to
reach these targets. It's not fair on motorists, or us. They just want
to make revenue."
The
first warden added: "You have to look for chances to give tickets. It
means going to residential areas, looking for cars on streets where the
lines are incorrectly painted, or faded.
"In loading bays, you're meant to give them at least five minutes, but you try to issue tickets quickly."
A council spokesman denied the allegations, insisting: "The council does not set targets for its civil enforcement officers.
"In
order that the council obtains best value from its agency workers, in
order to make best use of council taxpayers' money – the parking
operation is self-funded, as required by the Traffic Management Act
2004 – the council has outlined key performance indicators for penalty
charge notices issued by agency staff, to enable them to qualify for
overtime."
But a permanent employee hit back at the council's response, saying: "We are all on targets, permanent and agency.
"They
don't write it down, they say it verbally. Initially it was nine
tickets for every seven hours, then it went to 12, now it's up to 15."
The council employs 18 wardens directly and nine via the Red Snapper agency.
http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/latestnews/Exposed-truth-Croydon-sparking-fine-targets/article-389358-detail/article.html
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