MEDIA ALERT
Paramedics rally for recognition
Embargo: Tuesday 12 September 2023
Paramedics will rally in Martin Place as their campaign for professional rates of pay expands and intensifies.
The skills and value of paramedics has skyrocketed over the past decade as they have taken on increasingly clinical and public health functions. Paramedics now perform diagnostic procedures and administer medicines that prevent someone suffering a heart attack from deteriorating. This delivers a superior patient outcome and saves the taxpayer tens of thousands of dollars in hospital costs.
However the pay of NSW paramedics does not reflect this uplift in skills and they have fallen well behind similar health professionals in NSW due to the 12 year long wage cap that prevented meaningful wage bargaining.
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PARAMEDIC PROTEST Paramedics will rally at 52 Martin Place from 11am and then hold a doorstop with HSU NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes at approximately 11:30am |
“Unless we pay paramedics what they’re worth, they’ll keep moving to Queensland and Canberra. There’s a strong moral argument to lift pay, but an equally pressing practical issue. We need to keep our paramedics in NSW,” said Gerard Hayes, HSU NSW Secretary.
“Paramedics are not a nice-to-have, they are a must have. You can’t keep expecting them to take the hit on behalf of the broader community.”
Further information: Nick Lucchinelli 0422 229 032