Forcing paramedics to pay their own Working With Children Check is simply “revenue raising” by the state government says Peter Cribbs.
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The Illawarra paramedic – and the region’s delegate for the Australian Paramedics Association – said paramedics across the state were standing firm in boycotting the $80 fee for the mandatory five-yearly check.
He said it was a matter of principle – with both police and firefighters exempt from the check, and volunteers able to get it for free.
“Paramedics have consistently been identified as being the most trusted profession – yet we don’t feel like we’re being treated that way,” he said.
“We all truly believe that children need to be protected but we don’t see how charging paramedics a fee of $80 does that.”
Some 3500 NSW paramedics are required to get the WWCC by April 1. With that date looming, the union has stepped up its campaign in recent weeks.
On Tuesday the APA instructed members to lift a ban on collecting billing information from patients – which had been in place since February 28 and effectively gave thousands a ‘free ride’ to hospital.
The ban was put on hold as a show of “good faith” after the NSW government agreed to further talks with unions.
“As an emergency service we are very limited in the industrial action we can take – we cannot strike like other workers,” Mr Cribbs said. “This was one tool we could use to hit the government in the hip pocket.”
APA vice president Glenn Congram said further industrial action had not been ruled out: “Paramedics conditions and wages have been eroded over the years and we’ve got to the stage of saying ‘no’.”
A NSW Ambulance spokeperson said the WWCC has been phased in since 2013 for all NSW Government agencies.
“NSW Ambulance is one of the last agencies to be subject to the check which will see paramedics brought into line with all other health workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers.
“The $80 fee is over five years – four cents a day – and is fully tax deductible for employees who are required to apply for this check.”
The spokesperson said in 2015 Unions NSW, on behalf of a number of public sector unions, lodged an application for an Industrial Award to provide for reimbursement of the fee to NSW Public Sector Employees.
“Unions NSW was not successful in this application and it was dismissed by the full bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.”