It was Thank a Paramedic day on Thursday but Illawarra ambulance officers want more than just a pat on the back.
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Health Services Union (HSU) Illawarra sub-branch vice-president Anton Jamsek said paramedics were fighting proposed cuts to their death and disability cover.
‘’On Thank a Paramedic Day paramedics in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven are asking the Baird government to thank us by not taking away our award conditions,’’ he said.
‘’The government wants us to accept about one-third of the payout we would have got if we kept the existing death and disability award.
‘’We oppose cuts to this cover, which is an important safety net for our paramedics if they are sick or injured.’’
HSU Illawarra sub-branch secretary Rod Hatton said while paramedics were twice as likely to be injured as police – the proposal would see them given less than half the protection.
‘’For example, if we’re taking a violent patient to hospital often there’s both a paramedic and a police officer in the back restraining that patient,’’ he said.
‘’So if we have an accident on the way and they each sustain an injury which meant they could not work again, under the new proposal the paramedic would receive a payout of around $185,000 while the police officer would receive almost $700,000.’’
Keira MP Ryan Park said all emergency services personnel should receive adequate cover for the high-risk work they did.
‘’It’s absolutely critical the men and women on the front line who are there in our hour of great need, get the insurance and support they need,’’ he said.
‘’Paramedics have been attacked and suffer a great deal of stress, physically and emotionally, because of the nature of the jobs they do.’’
A NSW Health spokesperson said a review of the current award had been triggered due to a ‘’very significant’’ increase in insurance premiums.
‘’The proposed changes, incorporating a death benefit and an income protection benefit, are aimed at bringing the scheme back within the financial parameters agreed when the scheme was established,’’ the spokesperson said.
NSW Health and paramedic union representatives met in the Industrial Relations Commission on Thursday. The IRC has set the matter down for arbitration in December.
