On the morning of Friday 17 February, members gathered to greet peak-hour commuters in Sydney CBD and Wollongong. They were there to draw attention and to make a point.

They offered the public free CPR lessons because the way things are going, there won’t be any paramedics left in New South Wales to administer CPR – they will have left to work in another state where their professional qualifications are rewarded appropriately.

Across the state, they’re ready for a fight, and they aren’t backing down.

It wasn’t long before a crowd gathered, and people stood around waiting for their turn to learn this life-saving skill. They had lots of questions too: about how to correctly perform CPR, and also why the paramedics were there teaching it for free and why they were wearing yellow vests. ADHSU members have been wearing the yellow safety vests to protest the current lack of professional recognition.

All across the state, ADHSU paramedics are wearing the high-vis vests, protesting outside of MPs’ offices, and chalking up the sides of their ambulances to get their communities talking. Across the state, they’re ready for a fight, and they aren’t backing down.