APA (NSW) PARAMEDICS ANNOUNCE DECEMBER STRIKE ACTION
Contact: Tilak Nabi (Organiser) 0448 004 329 Thursday, 23 November 2023
The Australian Paramedics Association (NSW), the union representing the majority of frontline Paramedics working for NSW Ambulance, has this morning announced that unless Premier Minns makes a fair pay offer to Paramedics, APA (NSW) Paramedics will take 12 hours of partial strike action on December 1.
From 7am to 7pm, APA (NSW) Paramedics will only attend emergency ‘lights-and-sirens’ jobs (categorised within NSW Ambulance as Priority 1), in an unprecedented partial Paramedic strike.
This strike action escalates in addition to the union’s current escalated industrial action. From Thursday 23 November to Thursday 30 November, APA (NSW) members are refusing staff movements, and refusing to respond to non-emergency patient transfer jobs that could be otherwise taken by Patient Transport services. From Thursday 23 November on an indefinite ongoing basis, APA (NSW) members are also placing bans on patient billing, KPI reporting, and special events coverage.
Speaking at a press conference at Parliament, APA (NSW) President Brett Simpson this morning said “this is unprecedented action for APA (NSW), but the Minns Government has left us with no choice. This is not an action that Paramedics want to undertake, it is not something that we have taken lightly. It is a line that we previously said we won’t cross.”
“So bad are the conditions for paramedics in New South Wales that unfortunately, the Premier and the Health Minister have left us with no choice. Without real reform from the New South Wales government, the ambulance service and the health system will continue to deteriorate, and patients will ultimately suffer worse harm.”
“It’s now in the hands of the Premier and the Health Minister to avert the strike happening on the first of December. All they have to do is pick up the phone.”
The union says they wish to reassure the public that anyone who needs an emergency ambulance response will receive one during the strike action.
The action comes after an alarming PMES survey report released by the Government this month exposed that fewer than 1 in 4 NSW Paramedics do not feel burnt out by their work, and 37% of current Paramedics plan to leave the service within 5 years. With poor working conditions and low wages contributing to an attrition rate at its highest since 2013 in the service, the union has slammed the 4% pay offer made 6 months ago by the Government as “appalling”.
Speaking in support of the APA (NSW) action, Greens NSW Health Spokesperson Dr Amanda Cohn MLC said that “the Minns Labor government is putting patients at risk by paying Paramedics the worst in the country.”
“We know that Paramedics are either leaving the state or leaving the profession in droves. That is putting patients at risk in the long term.”
“The Australian Paramedics Association, in standing up frontline health workers, is also standing up for patients and the changes we that need to fix the health system.”
“It is unacceptable to offer Paramedics a pay rise below inflation. They look after us, and so we look after them.”
Contact details:
Tilak Nabi (Organiser) 0448 004 329