'It's not a privilege to park': Shopping centre workers furious over new paid parking rules
Commuters driving past Melbourne's Southland shopping centre were witness to a noisy roadside protest on Monday morning.
Staff at the centre are angry because they now have to pay to park at work.
People on their way to work were invited to honk if they supported free parking at Southland.
From Monday staff have to pay $5 a day to park at the busy shopping centre.
"For a full-time worker working five days a week, it's $1300 a year," Retail and Fast Food Worker's Union spokesman Josh Cullinan said.
"For an 18-year-old working a three-hour shift, it's 14 per cent of their income."
Shoppers no longer get unlimited free parking either - after three hours they will have to pay, unless seeing a movie, in which case they will have to pay after four hours.
Unions say 96 per cent of Southland shoppers will leave before the free limit time is up, but workers have little choice.
"It's not a privilege to park," Southland worker Alwyn Gelder said.
"It should be free."
"We're not in the CBD here, there's not 10 train lines," Josh Cullinan said.
"There's one train line, there's no trams."
Westfield told Seven News it was introducing paid parking to prevent pressure on the car park from the opening of Southland train station in November.
The company said paid parking at big shopping centres is not new, but that hasn't stopped local MP Tim Richardson from writing to Westfield boss Frank Lowy.
"They have a social contract with our community and I put it to Frank that they need to change the decision," Mr Richardson said.
Mr Richardson said he was still waiting for a reply from Mr Lowy.
