Victorian paramedics prepare to strike over pay deal
Victorian paramedics are gearing up for industrial action after the Andrews Government refused to budge on a pay deal that would see experienced paramedics paid more. This is why it’s been refused.
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Victoria’s paramedics are ready to go to war with the Andrews Government as negotiations for a new pay deal remain at a stalemate after nine months.
The Herald Sun can reveal the Victorian Ambulance Union is planning industrial action in coming weeks, despite being willing to accept the government’s 2 per cent cap on pay rises
The union wants a new wage structure that delivers salary boosts to experienced paramedics in exchange for low annual increases, but the government has so far been unwilling to budge.
Paramedics would likely write campaign messages on their ambulances, reprising their tactics during a bitter fight with the former Liberal government in 2014.
While patient safety will not be compromised, other actions are likely to include bans on washing ambulances and collecting data, as well as declining to take the billing details of patients, which would hit Ambulance Victoria’s budget.
Union boss Danny Hill told members this week it was “time for action”.
“It is a shame that after the previous government’s war on paramedics, we appear to be heading back into battle. But we have never shied away from a fight,” he said.
A government spokeswoman said that “positive conversations are underway and ongoing”.
“We value the work of our paramedics and the critical role that they play in keeping us safe,” she said.
In 2016, the Andrews Government handed pay rises of as much as 28 per cent to Victoria’s paramedics, making them the best-paid in the nation at the time.
Currently, paramedics progress to higher pay grades after one, three and six years, and the union is arguing extra levels should be added after nine, 12 and 15 years to reward specialist skills and experience.
In a bulletin to members this week, Mr Hill said he had asked Premier Daniel Andrews to intervene on that demand, as well as to deliver a three-year rather than a four-year deal.
Mr Hill said it was “disappointing” the Premier had not responded to his letter, adding members had been “completely reasonable” despite “significant delays” in the bargaining process.
“It seems that we are heading towards a protracted industrial dispute and will likely need to take industrial action to achieve an acceptable deal,” he told members.
The pay dispute has been complicated by an internal union split, with thousands of paramedics transferring to the new Victorian Ambulance Union, set up after their former union was impacted by a merger between United Voice and the National Union of Workers.
ANALYSIS
One of Daniel Andrews’ first acts as premier was to end the former Liberal government’s “war” on Victoria’s paramedics.
They had campaigned aggressively during the 2014 state election for a new pay deal, scrawling messages on their ambulances which were washed off within days of Labor’s victory.
Andrews sent the issue to the Fair Work Commission which completely overhauled paramedic pay scales, resulting in a $54 million boost to their wages in 2016.
Resolving that dispute has always been a source of pride for Andrews and his ministers, who routinely spruik the efforts of paramedics to slash response times and improve patient outcomes.
Just this week, Ambulance Services Minister Jenny Mikakos was talking up record response times to cardiac arrests.
But the 2016 deal expired at the end of April last year, and now, the messages on ambulances could be coming back with lines like: “You wouldn’t wait nine months for an ambulance yet paramedics wait nine months for a deal! Dan Andrews, it’s #responsetime.”
The Victorian Ambulance Union is willing to accept the government’s two per cent cap on annual salary increases, a number which has infuriated other unions.
In exchange, it also wants an improved career progression structure to enable pay bumps for more experienced staff, which would likely be an expensive move, given the government has so far been unwilling to accept that offer.
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Industrial action now appears inevitable, after the Police Association launched their own action just before Christmas, prompting a new deal to be sealed within days.
But the events of 2014 mean Victoria’s paramedics are different from police.
They have been close to the Labor government which ended their bitter fight with the Liberals and generously rewarded them — so close that Steve McGhie, the ambulance union boss back then, is now an MP in Andrews’ caucus.
That relationship will be put to the test this year.