The Health Services Union has asked for a 20 per cent pay rise over three years for NSW paramedics. Photo: NSW Health.
The Health Services Union (HSU) has accused the NSW Government of misleading the public over a pay dispute for paramedics.
Despite the government labelling the latest pay increase a “record offer”, the union says the government had inflated the actual base pay rates by up to 25 per cent to make it look more attractive, and it walked out of mediation discussions on 8 December.
“The NSW Government has made a record offer to deliver professional rates of pay for paramedics and an average 19 per cent pay rise,” NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said in a statement.
“We are bitterly disappointed the HSU has rejected this and walked out of the mediation this morning.”
HSU President Gerard Hayes said the government was misleading the public with “deliberately inflated figures about what paramedics are paid” and that it risks “mass resignation and deregistration of one of its most skilled but underpaid workforces”.
“In a note circulated to media, the government has claimed its pay offer would lift a first-year paramedic’s take-home pay from $123,594 to $137,683. This is not a figure that has been put to the HSU, and nor is it accurate.
“The offer put to the union proposes a paltry 11.4 per cent, four-year increase to the base pay of first-year paramedics, from $74,364 to $82,877.”
The union – which has asked for a 20 per cent pay rise over three years to align it with other states – says NSW paramedics are leaving to work in other states where they can earn more.
It also says some 1500 ambulance officers boycotted their professional registration renewal cutoff date of 30 November, which means they will no longer be legally allowed to attend emergency calls from midnight on 31 December.
Minister Park said the boycott poses “risks and danger” to the NSW community.
“If that many paramedics decided not to turn up from 1 January, a minute past midnight on New Year’s Eve, that threatens to collapse Triple-0,” he said.
“New South Wales government has made a record offer to deliver professional rates of pay for paramedics with the average of a 19 per cent pay rise.
“This is a once-in-a-generation offer,” he added.
“This is the largest government pay increase in recent history, and will take NSW paramedics from some of the lowest paid to some of the highest paid in the country.
“This would match NSW paramedic salaries with those in Queensland on the basis of take-home pay by 1 January 2025. This is what the union asked for.”
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the government is seeking arbitration from the Industrial Relations Commission.
“I well and truly accept the fact that paramedics might want to punish the government,” he said. “They shouldn’t be punishing the public by bringing an end to Triple-0.”
The HSU said the people of NSW need and deserve an ambulance workforce they can rely upon.
“Unfortunately, the workforce is crumbling,” Mr Hayes said. “Paramedics literally can’t afford to keep doing their jobs.
“The inadequate offer we received this morning does not fix the problem. Under this proposal, we will never catch up with Queensland. And that means paramedics will just keep leaving.”
