NSW Premier Mike Baird has promised to overhaul the disability insurance scheme for NSW paramedics.
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However, until then, union workers are refusing a request from the premier to dump a campaign against him.
Mr Baird told NSW paramedics to give him 90 days to come up with a “much more generous” scheme than the one currently in place, which ambos say savagely cuts their work conditions.
He committed to bringing it into line with protections for the NSW Police.
While welcoming the change in direction from the NSW government, Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said union members would continue their protest until the cuts are taken off the table – cuts that they say leaves them worse off than police and other emergency services workers.
“There's a lot of ‘trust me’ in this,” Mr Hayes said. “Our members were of the view that the campaign should continue. He wasn’t happy [but] talk is cheap and we have been down this path before.”
Union members have been chalking messages on the sides of ambulances including: ‘NSW paramedics most trusted, least protected, thanks to Premier Mike Baird.’
MNC paramedic and Health Services Union (HSU) ambulance councillor Steve Fraser was at the vital meeting.
He said, “the Premier met and spoke with us at length – he said he needed to take a ‘whole of Government’ approach to the issue but he committed to working to achieve “a much more generous scheme”.
“He asked us to give him 90 days and also to stop the chalk campaign we have been running. He gave us a good hearing and sounded genuine, however we told him that, with respect, we would continue the campaign, although we are happy to change the tone.”
He said ambulances would now carry the message that “Mike Baird will fix it (the problem) in 86 days” (Monday) … counting down to the deadline.
“We want to keep him reminded of his commitment, because it is a big one. We are hopeful but it is not over yet.”
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