Qld: Ambos begin campaign for more wages
By Nikki Todd
BRISBANE, Aug 12 AAP - Ambulance employees have joined the long queue of Queenslandpublic sector workers seeking higher wages from the state government.
Ambulance Employees of Australia (AEA) kick-started their industrial action campaigntoday with huge band-aids plastered across ambulances throughout the state.
The union lists severe understaffing, increasing workloads, inadequate funding, a pushto privatise subscriptions and worsening response times as factors in its call for increasedwages.
AEA secretary Steve Crow said pay was not the issue, despite rejecting the government's3.5 per cent wage rise offer made two weeks ago.
"We'd be happy to accept the Queensland government's 3.5 per cent offer if they fixedthe other issues up," Mr Crow said.
"But 3.5 per cent doesn't fix the myriad of problems facing the service at the moment.
"Officers in many of Queensland's rural and regional stations are unable to take aday off because there is simply no-one to relieve them.
"Emergency situations across the state have increased dramatically over the years andcontinue to grow - stretching staff and resources to their absolute limit."
While acknowledging increased funding from the present government, Mr Crow said theincreases had not matched the rise in demand, causing response times to plummet.
"This is seriously putting Queenslanders lives at risk, we need a long-term solution," he said.
The ambos claim is one of seven wages Queensland public sector worker campaigns currentlyunder negotiation including nurses, doctors, police, builders, teachers and non-nursinghealth workers.
AAP nt/sc/cd/bwl
KEYWORD: AMBOS
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