May 6, 2009
Victoria's paramedics plan to take 10-hour fatigue breaks between shifts as
part of industrial action following the breakdown of year-long talks with the
state government for better pay and conditions.
Ambulance Employees Australia State Secretary Steve McGhie said a proposed
10-hour enforced break, instead of an eight-hour break, is the major sticking
point in the negotiations.
Paramedics will apply to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) on Thursday
for a protected industrial action ballot."Our industrial action will be focused
on reducing paramedic fatigue and providing Victoria with a safer ambulance service,"
said Mr McGhie."We are simply following advice from WorkSafe Victoria who
say breaks of less than 10 hours between shifts are a fatigue hazard."
The enforced 10-hour rest breaks are part of a list of 19 different types of industrial
action to be submitted to the IRC including bans on overtime and returning to
work during rest breaks.
Mr McGhie says overtime is a major contributor to paramedic fatigue.
He said documents released under Freedom of Information (FOI) in 2008
revealed regional paramedics averaged 55 days of overtime a year, equivalent
to 11, 38-hour weeks, while those in the metro area averaged 32 days.
The ballot application also provides for stop-work meetings and other various
bans, such as refusing to collect patient billing data, which would make Victoria's
ambulance service free."Paramedics are dedicated professionals - they don't
want to take industrial action, but they have been left with no alternative,
given the government will not fix this dangerous situation," Mr McGhie said.
"For an entire year we've negotiated in good faith for proper breaks and fair
wages. We have got nowhere."He said many paramedics face extreme workloads
of more than 15 hours straight, often without meal breaks, and then need to be
back working eight hours later.
He said a survey of 350 paramedics found many are falling asleep driving and
making clinical errors because of their workload and lack of sleep between shifts.
2009 AAP
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