CODE RED: A little off topic

I believe this is the first post on my blog that is somewhat removed from my training. The link is that it does directly affect my training as it is about my job. Since my job is how I earn an income, involves a good portion of my week and has its various stressors as is the case with most people's work, it influences most things in my life. The main reason there has been big gaps between posts of late is work is taking up more of my time. At least I am managing to get some reasonable training in.

I'll try and keep this short and to the point. I am a paramedic with Ambulance Victoria. At the moment we are in the midst of fighting for fair pay and conditions. There are other issues such as plenty of failures in the ambulance system of providing resources for patients that need us. Response times are getting longer, we are being ramped up at hospital for ever extending times and unavailable to respond and we are working longer beyond the end of our rostered shifts. The main prompt to put this post on my blog was a recent shift, which is meant to be 10 hours, extended out to 13.5 hours. As a result I didn't get to see my kids awake that day.

So what is fair pay? Quite simply we want pay parity with paramedics in other states that have similar skill sets. At the moment we are $24,000 behind just on base rate. Our management and the Victorian Government are trying to get us to give up annual leave, sick leave, work place injury entitlements and other similar conditions to fund our own so-called pay rise. The offers amount to only about $1 per week improvement. That sees as the lowest paid paramedics in the country. If that is outcome the state will lose many experienced paramedics, including myself to other ambulance services interstate or just to different, better paying jobs with better conditions. The latter is exactly what I will do. However I really would like to remain as a career paramedic. I did not take the job to become rich, but I expect a fair wage and fair conditions. Over my ten years in the Ambulance Victoria that has been eroded away, and the current offers are insulting.

What I am asking is simple. If you think it is important that your paramedics are paid a fair wage, have fair conditions, are properly resourced to allow them to respond to patients in a timely and non-fatigued manner so they can offer the best level of care, then please tell your government and please sign the petition linked below.


CODE RED Petition

Further information can be found at Code Red www.aeavic.com.au