An emergency ambulance call out could soon be free for patients, as paramedics threaten industrial action over an $80 ‘Working With Children’ check.
New South Wales paramedics are being forced to get the mandatory check by April 1 and are being asked to foot the bill themselves.
Paramedics will also not be reimbursed by NSW Ambulance, a move which the Australian Paramedics Association (APA) has threatened industrial action over.
New South Wales paramedics are being forced to get a mandatory ‘Working With Children’s’ check by April 1 and are being asked to foot the bill themselves
Australian Paramedics Association (APA) has threatened industrial action over the $80 fee (NSW secretary Steve Pearce pictured)
‘If we haven’t got a satisfactory resolution in 14 days we will be escalating,’ APA NSW secretary Steve Pearce told 9 News.
Paramedics are also threatening to boycott major sporting events, such as horse races, if the demand isn’t met.
Currently, patients in NSW are charged $364 for an emergency call out, plus an additional $3.29 per kilometre.
If the government refuses to fork out the $80 fee for 3500 paramedics, that fee will no longer apply.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said while he ‘values’ the debate around the issue, the mandatory check will bring paramedics in line with other public sector workers
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said while he ‘values’ the debate around the issue, the mandatory check will bring paramedics in line with other public sector workers.
Hundreds of thousands of NSW teachers, nurses, bus drivers and other workers have paid for the ‘Working With Children’ check from their own pockets. Police are the only employees who are exempt.
‘I value the union, I value the staff but I think this is a little bit over the top,’ Mr Hazzard said.
‘Paramedics are just falling in line with teachers, nurses, bus drivers, everybody, and it costs about four cents a day.’
However, paramedic Chris Kastelan sees it as a ‘clawback of paramedic’s hard earned wages’.