Today, ADHSU delegates from NSWA met to discuss several mounting issues for ADHSU members working for the Service. After last year’s hard fight for a pay rise, members are yet to see the correct award rate hit their bank accounts. While a delay of two or three pay periods is normal with large changes like this, initial enquiries to HealthShare payroll indicate that it could be as long as six months until paramedics see the changes to pay they should have seen in January. In addition, new starters – who have never been paid under the old award – are stuck at the outdated rate. This is wage theft.

Another major issue members are facing is the Service refusing to maintain Taxpayer Funded Rosters (TFRs). This issue not only effects tired and overworked paramedics ticking over into their second or third hour of extension of shift overtime, but their communities as well. Paramedics understand intimately the ripple effect of NSW Ambulance not backfilling gaps in rostering. When someone calls in sick in Campbelltown, it’s no use to the people of South West Sydney that Artarmon might be one car up above minimum operating levels. That “extra” resource will almost never make it to where it is needed in time.

New South Wales taxpayers expect that their taxes fund an adequate level of emergency service coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but the Service is not keeping up their end of the deal. This Service would prefer to use creative accounting to say the whole state is covered all the time rather than consider bringing in premium labour. Never mind that those overstretched paramedics remaining often do several hours of overtime at the ends of their shifts just to cover the jobs. With extension of shift overtime comes fatigue, mistakes, injury and much worse.

Paramedics and their communities are suffering: paramedics from being tired, overstretched and still woefully underpaid; and their communities from not getting the local resources they need, when they need them. Fortunately, the ADHSU membership is match fit and ready to keep fighting.

All ADHSU paramedics should attend a stop work zoom meeting at 0700 Monday 26 February to make their voice heard on these ongoing issues and remind the Service that members are strong, active and patient-focused. Zoom link sent out closer to date.