The Hodgman Liberal Government values the commitment and hard work of Tasmania’s paramedics.
The Government is committed to negotiating with paramedics in good faith, however, Tasmanians deserve to have confidence in Ambulance Tasmania and the high levels of care paramedics and ambulance officers provide, day in day out.
Demands from union bosses to write on ambulances is not an appropriate use of emergency vehicles, it detracts from their use and may be a distraction on the roads. It also diminishes the standing of a professional ambulance service and will not be accepted.
The community expects ambulances, that are owned by the people of Tasmania, should be respected.
We believe that all of Tasmania’s hardworking paramedics deserve a pay rise, but it must be fair, it must be sustainable, and it must be affordable so we can continue to invest in more paramedics and better ambulance services.
Since coming to government we have backed our paramedics and made key investments including;
- Recruiting almost 70 additional paramedics over the past four years.
- Increased ambulance services across Tasmania, including the progressive recruitment of 42 new rural and regional paramedics
- $12 million to build the new Glenorchy and Burnie ambulance stations.
- $3 million to support new staff members at the state-wide Operations Centre.
- Employing new ambulance crews, one in each of the North and the South, for the first time in many years.
- Delivered a $1.5 million emergency department support package to assist paramedics make their tough job easier.
At present there is an offer of a six per cent wage increase over three years on the table over and above current salaries.
It’s a fair offer which allows the Government to continue to invest record amounts into the services and infrastructure our growing State needs.
Paramedic wages background:
- The Government’s six per cent pay rise offer over three years is fair, sustainable, and affordable.
- It follows on from pay rises totalling 22 per cent delivered over the last five years, including the 14 per cent pay rise paramedics were awarded after the Government resolved the long-running Work Value Claim in 2015 - which Labor spent more than $1m in legal costs opposing it when they were in government
