Illawarra paramedics have joined their colleagues around the state in a ‘liquid chalk’ protest.
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Slogans have been written on the windows of ambulances criticising the Baird government’s changes to paramedics’ death and disability insurance, which came into effect on August 20.
‘Paramedics. Most trusted, least protected! Thanks Mike Baird’’ read the slogan on one Wollongong ambulance this week. Another stated: ‘We had your back Mr Baird. Why don’t you have ours?’.
Health Services Union (HSU) Illawarra delegate, and paramedic, Rod Hatton said cuts to insurance cover had left many of his colleagues feeling ‘’vulnerable and unprotected’’.
The NSW Paramedic Death and Disability Award was introduced in 2008 to provide paramedics and their families financial protection in the case of serious injury or death.
Under that scheme, a 20-year-old paramedic permanently injured on the job and unable to work in any occupation again would have received a payout of $699,635.
Since the changes late last month, that figure has been stripped back to $123,487 for a maximum of two years. In comparison, a police officer facing the same scenario would receive $432,127.
‘’We have one of the highest rates of injury among Australian workers – and now we feel unprotected,’’ Mr Hatton said.
‘’A lot of us suffer back injuries due to the heavy lifting involved, assaults on paramedics are also increasing plus many suffer mental health issues due to exposure to critical incidents.
‘’Often we’ll work side by side with police to restrain people high on alcohol or drugs, yet we receive less than a third of the protection police do. It’s just not fair.’’
The liquid chalk protest is part of a statewide HSU campaign to raise community awareness about the cuts.
The union was called before the NSW Industrial Relations Commisision to explain the chalk messages last week.
However HSU secretary Gerard Hayes said he was proud of the ‘’spirited, robust campaign being run by grass roots HSU members’’.
‘’Slashing death and disability protections will force paramedics to hesitate before they run towards a car crash or sprint up a flight of stairs while someone’s having a cardiac arrest,’’ Mr Hayes said. ‘’That’s in no-one’s interests.
‘’Paramedics deserve a properly funded protection scheme, just as the public deserves a paramedic workforce willing and able to put their body on the line to do the job.’’
NSW Ambulance defends new scheme
Paramedics would continue to receive good cover under a new death and income protection scheme according to a NSW Ambulance spokesman.
The spokesman said the state government valued the work of paramedics and continued to fund an insurance scheme in addition to workers’ compensation benefits.
‘’The new income protection scheme provides new benefits to sick and injured paramedics who received nothing under the old scheme because their illness or injuries did not result in permanent total or partial disability,’’ he said.
‘’The previous lump sum benefits for disability have been replaced by a two-year income protection benefit to support staff during a period of recovery and rehabilitation before they return to work. This is not a lump sum or ‘payout’.
‘’The new scheme continues to provide benefits in the case of incidents at work and also those that occur outside the workplace. Paramedics will no longer have to contribute to the cost of the new scheme.’’
The spokesman could not comment on the ‘’chalking matter’’ due to it still being before the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.