United Voice News
Ambos call for wage parity
Ambulance officers and paramedics in WA demand pay structure on a par with nurses.
Ambulance officers in WA have staged a series of protests in their campaign to gain wage parity with registered nurses.
Members said they were tired of being ‘undervalued’ and underpaid. An ambulance officer earns $18 an hour while a qualified paramedic earns $24 an hour. Unlike nurses, they are not rewarded with more money for their years of experience.
Paramedic Justin Ingrey said they deserve a pay structure similar to RNs. ‘We have to deal with everything, whether it’s childbirth, heart attack, stroke, diabetic emergency. We’re a jack of all trades. We’re undervalued and it’s about time the government stepped up to the plate.’
The offer of a payrise of 57 cents an hour for paramedics in their seventh year of employment was branded ‘insulting’ by WA Assistant Secretary Carolyn Smith.
The protests have included stop-work meetings, work bans, work to rule and demonstrations. In late September 100 members stood outside Liberal Premier Colin Barnett’s office, carrying placards with the message ‘You’d die if you knew what we earn’.
