Ambos to take strike action as union says it is ‘poles apart’ from reaching agreement

Victorian Ambulance Union members have voted for protected industrial action as enterprise bargaining talks with the Allan government and Ambulance Victoria stalled.

Actions include stop work action so members can speak to the media about their cause. Picture: David Crosling

Victorian paramedics will take industrial action and refuse to do hospital tasks or take patient billing details after a breakdown in pay negotiations.

Victorian Ambulance Union members voted for protected industrial action on Tuesday as enterprise bargaining talks with the Allan government and Ambulance Victoria stalled.

The union says it is “poles apart” from reaching agreement and their actions would not affect patient or public safety.

Actions include stop work action so members can speak to the media about their cause; writing slogans on ambulances and refusing to do hospital tasks such as taking patients up to wards or drawing their blood.

Crews that have been stuck outside hospitals for more than 40 minutes will activate their ambulance’s beacon.

The union’s key demands centre around improvements which they said would tackle retention issues, such as unsociable shift allowances and on-call provisions, with an independent survey finding one in five paramedics plan to leave within a year.

Members voted down an offer in December for a 3 per cent pay rise and $1800 lump sum.

Union secretary Danny Hill said it was “disappointing that we are at this point” but key issues had not been resolved after more than a year of bargaining.

“This EBA is about making the job more survivable with better work-life balance, reasonable workload, and getting home to family on time,” he said.

“Without that we will continue to lose the experienced workforce.

“While we have made ground in some areas, most of the workforce are only being offered a 3% increase to wages and little change to working conditions.

“These are the people who gave everything they had to the community during the COVID pandemic”.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Jane Miller said they respected workers’ right to take protected action and reassured people that if they need an ambulance “you will get one”.

“We are taking steps to ensure this will not impact patient care,” she said.

“AV continues to negotiate in good faith with employee representatives towards a mutually beneficial Ambulance Victoria Enterprise Agreement.”

A state government spokeswoman reiterated emergency care will not be affected and said they “value the dedication and hard work that our paramedics do every day”.

“We thank them for their service to the state,” she said.

“We expect Ambulance Victoria and the Victorian Ambulance Union to continue to negotiate in good faith and reach a resolution as soon as possible.”