MEDIA RELEASE
Victorian Ambulance Agreement: Action on fair pay, safety and exposure to drugs
The Ambulance Employees Australia Victoria (AEAV) has today reached in-principle agreement with Ambulance Victoria on a new enterprise agreement.
Key concessions from Ambulance Victoria include commitments to address the AEAV key claims including:
- Fair pay increases that keep Victorian paramedics the best paid in the country
- Pay parity for undervalued Ambulance Victoria employees
- Paramedics not being forced to work alone
- Introduction of best practice drug testing.
Paramedic and AEAV State Councillor Brett Adie said AEAV members were pleased the Victorian Government had agreed to take action on all outstanding claims.
“There is still much work to be done to ensure a safe working environment for all paramedics, especially those in rural areas,” Mr Adie said.
“Ambulance Victoria has finally acknowledged the risk of environmental exposure to drugs such as ketamine and committed to working with us to ensure we can move towards best practice testing.
“This Enterprise Agreement will allow us to regain some of the work conditions lost over the last few years.
“For eight years, rural paramedics have been at risk of being forced to work on their own in an unsafe environment, and we think this agreement is a step towards protecting those vulnerable members.”
Ambulance Employees Australia Victoria (AEAV) is a section of the United Workers Union.
ENDS
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