Dear Members
We are writing to advise that shortly you will be asked to vote on the new Enterprise Agreement which will govern your wages and conditions for the next 2 years (as one has passed since we began negotiations). In addition to back pay already received the next increment will be here in 4 weeks.
Prior to commencing negotiations, we surveyed our membership and many of our members wanted to ‘protect our current conditions’, with some members suggestive of forgoing a pay rise if we could retain all our current conditions.
The executive negotiating team were presented with significant changes that threatened the way in which we work in ‘what was a campaign by management’ to undermine the current Paramedic crewing standard.
The negotiating team not only managed to alleviate that threat but also managed to increase conditions such as additional personal leave, greater special leave accruals, meal breaks, post start allowance, leave flexibility, reasonable overtime and what was deemed to be a reasonable pay rise given the state of the economy back when we started negotiations.
We have maintained our focus on achieving what is a good deal given the hurdles we had to cross to maintain those improved conditions. The AEAWA committee will ALL have to work any conditions and clauses we agree to, and there is no way we would allow wording that would disadvantage our members. All our negotiators are completely unpaid, unbiased delegates, with NO alternate agenda to damage the other bargaining group.
As it stands over the past 4 years, we have secured an 8.25% on wages and conditions and the two to come will secure another 5% equating to 13.25% over two agreements, something other ambulance services would relish.
We are aware of the changes in the national and global economic situation; however, nobody could have predicted these events eighteen months ago when we began negotiating.
There has been discussion that other services that have received 1% or less for several years are looking at a substantial increase, however as stated, in just over 12 months when we go back to the table, we will certainly be asking for increases aligned to other services.
So, the entire Negotiating Team are recommending that you vote YES to the offer as we believe it is one of the best achieved for many years.
There has been a swell of incorrect and ill-informed information circulated in relation to the offer. If any member has questions, please direct them toward your delegates. We do not feel it productive to engage in a tit for tat email debate with a bargaining group who seem to be only interested in criticising for the sake of trying to preserve their declining membership.
Yours sincerely
AEAWA Negotiating team.