Paramedics and ambulance workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of escalating industrial action.
After 99 meetings, Victorian paramedics and ambulance workers still don’t have a deal that improves longevity in the job and work/life balance.
More than 97.5 per cent of members have voted to escalate industrial action and introduce 70 new work bans targeting every pocket of Ambulance Victoria where our members work.
Members working in patient transport, communications centres, air ambulance, triage services, rosters department, management, and education will be banning practices and refusing tasks in the areas they work in.
This includes refusing to utilise automated processes, bans on information collection and sharing across departments, bans on booking taxis, bans on training and competency sign offs, and bans on using digital systems for medication checks, tracking equipment, and deploying resources.
“Labor boasts its credentials on supporting ambos. Enterprise bargaining is where they need to put their money where their mouth is,” Victorian Ambulance Union secretary, Danny Hill, said.
“This campaign is about improving work/life balance and longevity in the job. It’s disappointing that paramedics need to escalate industrial action to get a fair result and improve their working lives”.
“Ultimately paramedics want to reduce the amount of overtime they are forced to work every day. But AV won’t let them go home, not because they are responding to emergencies, they are responding to low acuity cases or ramped for hours in hospital corridors”.
“Over 97 per cent is a massive result that shows our members are united and prepared to escalate in order to get a fair deal”.
Actions will not affect the safety of the patients or the public.
They are carefully aimed at the massive amount of additional administrative duties that are put onto paramedics and ambulance workers who just want to respond to emergencies in the community.
IMAGE: East Gippsland ambulance ramping at Bairnsdale hospital has become common place in recent months. (PS)
