Victoria's premier has been accused of choosing train lines over frontline police as officers threaten to walk off the job for the first time in more than 20 years.
The state's police and protective service officers will leave their stations for 30-minute blocks as part of a series of strikes.
The industrial action is set to begin at the police academy and Broadmeadows police station on Thursday, with dozens more sites expected to be added at a rate of two stations each day.
The latest wave of industrial action is an attempt to drag the government and Victoria Police back to the bargaining table after talks stalled.
Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said his members were very frustrated by the situation.
"They are frustrated that the government hasn't treated police the way it is treating other workers," he told reporters on Monday.
"The government has money ... it has the capacity to do more, but it needs to ask itself does it want a train line or does it want a front line."
Public safety won't be affected during the strike action and officers would still respond to triple-zero calls, Mr Gatt said.
"The community is certainly not the target here ... the target here is the employer (Victoria Police) and the government," he said.
"The frequency of these stoppages could increase, our members could consider a mass rally."
Police are calling for a 24 per cent pay rise over the next four years and the introduction of 8.5-hour shifts.
In May, an in-principle agreement was reached with officers for a nine-day fortnight and 16 per cent pay rise over four years.
However, police union members voted against the deal.
The long-running pay battle is now before the Fair Work Commission, which has been asked by Victoria Police to intervene.
The latest threat of strike action could cause a headache for a Victorian government that has also battled nurses and paramedics over pay in 2024.
It agreed in June to a 28 per cent pay rise for nurses, and in September inked a deal for paramedics to receive a pay rise of at least 17 per cent and conditions to reduce burnout.
Fresh from signing a $1.7 billion contract to tunnel the controversial Suburban Rail Loop, Premier Jacinta Allan insisted the government had negotiated in good faith.
She suggested it was not fair for Mr Gatt to compare the pay disputes of police and nurses, given the historical pay disparity for the generally feminised nursing workforce.
"It's not an apples and apples comparison," the premier said.
"That (gender pay disparity) was a significant part of that enterprise bargaining agreement outcome with the nurses.
"We don't have that circumstance here with Victoria Police."
A Victoria Police spokesperson said it remained committed to securing an agreement that recognised the challenges of policing and is fair for police and protective services officers.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the Allan government had shown "utter contempt" for Victoria Police members and there should be enough money to give officers a fair pay rise.
