November 2024 Volume 1: Issue 2
AEAWA Newsletter
Contents
From the President
A brief summary on what the AEAWA Committee has been doing over the last month.
01
The AEAWA 2024 AGM
The AEAWA AGM was held on Friday 15th November 2024.
02
Depot Delegates
Have a look at who your Depot Delegates are from around the State.
03
AEAWA Committee
Get to know your Committees and Delegates.
04
Industrial Matters
There are numerous things that occur within the organisation on a day to day basis. Here is what the AEAWA has been doing regarding those issues.
05
Joint Consultative Committees
Every three months the AEA and St John meet to discuss workplace issues at the Joint Consultative Committees.
06
Bulletins
The AEAWA create Bulletins from time to time when we as a membership base need to adhere to strict safety or industrial protocols.
07
The Paramedic EBA
Here is the latest information on the Paramedic EBA negotiations.
08
The ‘Report’ Button
Some statistics on the website ‘Report’ button.
09
FAQs
The AEA will list some of the most asked FAQs within the service.
10
AEAWA Information
The AEA will list information on CPD updates, our surveys (when active), and the Member of the Month, along with other pertinent Association updates.
11
The Media
The service in the media.
12
From the President
Need some info.
John Thomas
AEAWA President
01
The AEAWA 2024 AGM
The AGM commenced with a basic synopsis of the evening, and a head count to ensure a quorum had been achieved. It had, so the meeting commenced.
Members were then asked to bring in a drink from the bar in order to raise a ‘cheers’ to our fallen member Tinesh, who’s anniversary of passing was one year on the previous day November 2023. The AEAWA on behalf of its membership posted the tribute to Tinesh of the AEA FaceBook page.
“Today marks one year since we lost our colleague and friend, Tinesh Tamilkodi, in the line of duty. Tinesh dedicated his life to serving the community, and his commitment to caring for others knew no bounds.
On November 14 last year, Tinesh was en route to assist those in need when his CSP vehicle tragically crashed at the intersection of Armadale and Anstey roads in Forrestdale. It was one of hundreds of calls he had answered over his 10-year career — each one a testament to his selfless dedication.
Today, we remember Tinesh not just as a paramedic, but as a cherished member of our AEAWA family, a true professional, and a caring soul who touched countless lives. His legacy endures in the lives he saved, in the colleagues he inspired, and in the hearts of all who knew him.
Let us honor Tinesh’s memory by continuing the work he loved with the same passion and compassion that he brought to every shift. Rest in peace, Tinesh. You are missed, and you are remembered.
RIP”
The AEAWA Executive Committee
A brief run through the Executive Committee occurred. The Officer Bearers of the AEAWA being
- Mr John Thomas AEAWA President.
- Mr Mike Hardwick AEAWA Vice President.
- Mr Lee Waller AEAWA Secretary and Treasurer.
The other members of the AEAWA Executive Committee included
- Mr Dave Higgins
- Mr Callan McClure
- Mr Jesse George
- Mr Conrad Fairhead
- Mr Andrew Kerfoot
This team has over 175 years of Ambulance Service experience and over 100 years of Industrial Ambulance Union experience between them.
The AEAWA Committee
Attendees were shown the AEAWA organisational chart inclusive of
- AEAWA Executive Committee
- Paramedic Committee
- Medic Committee
- Communications Officers Committee
- Transport Committee
- Metropolitan Depot Delegates
- Country Depot Delegates.
Who are the AEAWA?
A brief presentation of the AEAWA was discussed.
- ALL committee members and delegates volunteer their time.
- We are not compensated for our time in any way.
- ALL committee members are financial members of the Association.
- We are a self-regulated and self-managed entity, with no political interference.
- Your committee is made up of Paramedics, Communications Officers, Medics and Transport Officers across WA.
What Your Committee Does
A brief presentation on what the AEAWA Committee has been doing over the year occurred
- Spent 950 hours collectively at the Paramedic EBA negotiations.
- Attended ALL, JCC, Working Groups and outcome meetings (35 in total).
- Sent and received 18,400 emails.
- Received and made over 10,000 calls from members.
- Represented 116 members through various disciplinary meetings.
- Attended over 220 meetings at Belmont.
- Attended multiple meetings with our Lawyers.
- Attended even more with St Johns Lawyers.
- Attended multiple FWC meetings with the full bench for our registration.
- We are constantly holding the organisation to account. THIS IS A FULLTIME JOB!
The AEAWA Have Now Branched into the Following Areas
- All Ambulance Services across WA (Wilson Medic One, Safety Direct Solutions, National Patient Transport, Absolute Medical Response, Falck, Medical Edge, Kingston First Response, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and State Medical Assistance).
- Private Industry
- Those on Industrial Contracts
- Students
The Ambulance Service Agreement
The AEAWA have requested under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the Ambulance Service Agreement, the letter sent on the 18th October 2024 to the Office of the Information Commissioner and can be viewed here https://www.aeawa.com.au/information/correspondence/
The AEAWA are keen to see this Agreement, as for the first time in its history it has been made a secret and is placed into a document not for public viewing. We smell a rat, as the last Ambulance Service Agreement has been easily accessible on the web, in fact the last one (written was in 2015) is on or website https://www.aeawa.com.au/information/reports/.
Of course, that request was rejected. So, the AEAWA then lodged a grievance to have this reviewed. We will access all physical means to obtain this document, and we will keep the membership up to date with that progression.
We believe this is very important to obtain, as there appears to be possible ‘deals’ made in the background between the Department of Health and St John, which we believe we should be aware of, and so too the public of Western Australia. In short, we think if its above board it would be made available like the rest of them have.
Questions from the Floor
Do these external members take up much of the AEAWA’s time?
External members are not taking up much of the committee’s time. The vast majority of our external members have joined the AEA for the benefits, the main one being free Professional Indemnity Insurance and access to AUSMED and ShopRite.
Executive Committee Delegate Mr Lee Waller handles the external member portfolio, and states this is easily managed by one delegate at this stage, as this membership base expands then the need to possibly employ an office person will be reviewed.
What if the Paramedic EBA goes to vote, and the offer is voted ‘NO’ by the majority?
If this is the case, there are two options. We may return back to the negotiations to review some of the items, and the pay offer to see if any other claims previously rejected by St John could be re-negotiated.
The other option may be further discussions in front of the Deputy president at FairWork to see if the Commissioner could make a judgment on some of the ‘unable to be achieved’ items from our Log of Claims. It could even go straight to arbitration in which a commissioner may decide the things we can not agree on. If this is the case, some me may win, others we could lose.
Do St John have to give us back pay for the Agreement?
In short no. If it’s agreed in principal during the negotiations, then we would most likely have a favourable outcome in the commission if they tried to not pay the back pay. In this round of negotiations, St John have gone against the standard practice of backpay, instead opting to only pay back pay if we accept the 5%, 5% and 4% offer over the life of the Agreement.
What is the Meal Break window we are trying to get?
Basically, we want the Meal Break to be completed in the Meal Break window, not being allocated one with one-minute to go before that window finishes. The other issue so far is ensuring St John are penalised appropriately if we don’t get one.
Is the AEAWA looking other programs for new employees getting into the job, in essence the type of training new employees are receiving?
Yes, the AEA have discussed the re-introduction of the Student Ambulance Officer program, and so far, St John seem to be interested in that. As usual, nothing is final until it happens, but there will be further discussions around this. We will inform the membership when those meetings occur.
CEP – we need to get back to ambos teaching ambo stuff, when will this occur?
This has been raised numerous times to St John and they are held to a certain percentage of ‘clinical’ training and updates throughout the training schedule. That being said, with all the other training that is required for us to do either externally, or through contract etc, there appears to be little time for the organisation to provide specific ‘paramedic’ training.
02
Depot Delegates
There are over 50 Depot Delegates throughout the state working at both country and metropolitan locations. If you require any assistance these dedicated individuals are on your doorstep. As our AEAWA Delegates are working beside you, we understand the issues you face and can often resolve them quickly.
There to help
Depot Delegates play an integral role within the AEA. Currently there are multiple locations throughout Western Australia that require a Delegate on location.
If you work at any of the vacant locations, and would be interested in becoming a Depot Delegate, please contact the AEAWA via [email protected] or speak to a delegate.
For the contact details of your nearest Depot Delegate please visit www.aeawa.com.au/about/delegates/.
The current vacant locations are.
Metropolitan
- Cockburn
- Ellenbrook
- Jandakot
- Kalamunda
- Kelmscott
- Mundaring
Country
- Dawesville
- Geraldton
- Kalgoorlie
- Merredin
- Newman
- Norseman
- Port Hedland
03
The AEAWA Committee
The AEAWA have a large, diversified and extremely experienced industrial team. But with over 60 Delegates across the State, there may be numerous members who are not familiar with many of their representatives. The AEAWA Newsletter will introduce various AEAWA committee members to our ever-growing membership.
Conrad Fairhead
AEAWA Executive
Conrad has been a valuable member of the AEAWA Executive since 2020 and usually works green shift Osbourne Park. Conrad is also a PSO and CCP; and is easily approachable with a wealth of knowledge about the service. Conrad is passionate about numerous specialist St John services and works hard to improve the working conditions of his colleagues.
Nick Willis
SOC Delegate
Nick is a Call-Taker and Radio Dispatcher who works blue shift in the State Communications Centre. He truly understands industrial issues relating to his profession and strives to improve working conditions. Nick is also heavily involved in the SOC JCC’s and worked tirelessly during the last round of EBA negotiations.
Our New Committee Members
The AEAWA would like to welcome three new Delegates to the team during the month of October. Jordan Campos and Chris Leonard both from the State Communications Centre will form part of the SOC Committee and Paramedic Leana Walter will join the AEAWA Paramedic Committee.
Jordan Campos
SOC Delegate
Jordan is a Communications Officer who works red shift SOC and wants to join the committee to keep up the fight in improving conditions of his fellow colleagues.
Chris Leonard
SOC Delegate
Chris is a Radio Dispatcher who works red shift SOC. Chris has been around for a while and truly understands the challenges his colleagues face on a daily basis. He joins the committee to create a more transparent working environment for all officers.
Leana Walter
Paramedic Delegate
Leana is a paramedic currently working part time. Leana wants to be involved as she understands the intricacies of the part time roster and believes she can assist her fellow officers working throughout St John under contracts such as hers.
04
Industrial Matters
- Read the AEAWA Bulletins
- View the AEAWA FaceBook page
- Communicate with your Delegates
- Look for AEAWA emails
Here is what the AEAWA committee is currently working on
Application to become a Registered Union
As the membership would be aware the AEAWA have applied to become a registered union. There has been much work in the background to prepare the application, and numerous meetings to progress to were we stand today.
The membership was briefed on that process.
- Attended over 30 meetings with our legal team.
- Produced multiple documents to satisfy the Registration process.
- Attended 6 meetings at the Chambers of Commerce.
- Re-wrote our Constitution and Rules.
- Attended meetings with the Fair Work Deputy President on 4 occasions
- Attended a FairWork Full bench hearing with the Vice President.
- Navigated multiple objections from multiple Unions over our registration.
- Wrote three MOU documents with 3 union bodies.
So now we are waiting on the verdict form the FairWork Australia Vice President. This case is complex to say the least, with many of the written documents being over 500 pages long. The AEAWA will (with the blessing of the membership), pursue any and every pathway possible in order to obtain our registration.
Once we have been made aware to the outcome, we will inform the membership on the next steps.
Our Second Home
When things go south, we often find ourselves in the Commission seeking clarification on a wide range of industrial matters. From under payments to breeches of our Agreements, we are constantly there, ensuring St John are kept honest, and that the conditions we have fought so hard to enjoy are upheld.
Organising our AGM
Its that time again (November/December) to hold our annual AEAWA Annual General Meeting. An email will go out soon (be on the lookout), with the location and details of the event. Every year we get many members who attend, from Paramedics, Medics, Communications Officers and Transport Officers…. If you are a member, come on down. There will be important updates for our members, discussions on what has happened, and what’s going to happen for the AEA, and of course food and drinks, which will be on us.
Please save the date for this year’s AGM which will be held on Friday November 15th, 2024 at the Melville Bowling Club; 592 Canning Highway, Alfred Cove. The event will commence from 19:00-21:00, but doors will open from 18:30 onwards.
Attending the induction schools
The AEAWA have attended and met all of the latest inductees into the organisation. The committee, meet and great all new officers during their induction schools and let them know who we are and how we can assist them.
We are very fortunate that many of these new officers join the AEA, and it is great to see that many of them who come from overseas, or over east have been advised to join us.
Organising delegates for the working groups
The AEAWA also have numerous delegates holding positions on the many working groups throughout the organisation, so if you have any suggestions or require any updates regarding each specific group, please contact the delegate assigned. These groups often meet monthly to discuss many of the issues employees face within the service.
Uniform Committee – Jesse George
Mental Health Committee – Lee Waller
CPAT Working Group – Callan McClue
Occupational Health and Safety Committee – Rick Candy
Hand-Held Radio Committee – Mike Hardwick
AUSMED Database
AUSMED has been a big benefit provided by the AEAWA to all its members and feedback so far has been great with over 950 members now using the platform. The AEA have performed much work in the background allowing our database and the AEAWA database link together, so it is more of a streamlined process for members to use.
Feedback has also been favourable of the ease in using the database. For those who have not registered please check your email inbox (the one you receive AEA emails from, as that is the primary address you provided when joining us).
A few interesting statistics from our AUSMED database.
816 Paramedics are currently using the platform, 41 Medics, 63 Transport Officers and 34 Communications Officers, making a total of 954 active users.
There have been 2,011 courses completed and the average course completion time has been 27 minutes.
AEAWA Database
The AEAWA have also placed a database for members to use, which can be found under the ‘Log In’ tab on the AEAWA website. Here you can update some of your profile details.
Name, Postal Address, Mobile Phone Number, Working Classification and Email Addresses can all be changed here.
For those of you who apply for Salary Continuance and ShopRite, you will require your AEA member number, this is not your officer/employee number. It is a specific number assigned to you when you join the AEA. Soon this database will also have your AEA member number contained on your membership profile.
For those who pay the AEA fortnightly fees through Direct Debit, you will be able to download your annual Tax Invoice AEA payments here under the downloads tab. The AEA cannot provide this annual statement to members who pay through payroll.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 5th November 2024 – the SOC JCC
Tuesday 5th November 2024 – the AEAWA Committee Meeting
Friday 15th November 2024 – the AEAWA AGM
05
Joint Consultative Commitees
Every 3-months the AEAWA and St John WA senior management meet to discuss workplace issues, policies and day to day work stresses that our members have. The Joint Consultative meetings are a way to resolve these issues.
Paramedic JCC
Workers Compensation Issues
Members have contacted the AEAWA as they have been off work for some time and awaiting Allianz the insurer to accept their workers compensation claim. Some officers have been off for months with no contact from Allianz. Members are not even being contacted by St John about the status of their claim. This is leading to significant stress amongst those who are off work due to injury. During this time frame employees should be focussing on their recovery, and receiving valuable assistance, not left to fend for themselves.
The AEAWA will continue to assist our members during workers compensation claims, even if St John have turned their backs on them.
Volunteer Fatigue Monitoring
Officers in the country have stated they often come to work and the volunteer they are working with have come off a volunteer night shift or have been working extensively before shift commencement. It’s difficult for those officers to ascertain if their officer is fatigued. St John Ambulance state it is difficult to monitor fatigue amongst the volunteer workforce, and due to this difficulty, it is easier to just forget about it.
There is some work in the background regarding fatigue monitoring across the organisation, in which the AEA are heavily involved with. Currently, St John wish is to stop metro employees doing multiple overtime shifts under the banner of fatigue, but for those in the country regions, apparently fatigue does not exist there.
Single Officer Response
On many occasions’ officers in the country, who cannot get a volunteer partner have often attended calls as a solo officer with assistance from another agency; RFDS/WAPOL/Nurses etc.
These individuals are NOT properly trained or authorised to use our equipment and any issue that eventuates from this type of response may create further complications. The AEA are currently monitoring this issue and are scheduling discussions with senior country managers.
Support Person Being Denied
Some members have advised the AEAWA that they have been denied a Support Person or been told they do not require one for this meeting. On some occasions they have been told that if they bring a Support Person to the meeting this will automatically escalate the issue.
Members need to be aware that St John in the past have denied a support person, as they believe if they are standing you down, you do not need a support person… ironic, we here at the AEA believe that this is a time were you definitely require support.
The AEA will not settle here, we will support our members through this process, that is what we have been tasked to do by the membership, it is the role of a union to assist members during these times.
Medic JCC
There still remains some outstanding issues for the Medic cohort that they would like to see sorted at their Joint Consultative Meeting this month.
Crew for the Rockingham/Mandurah Area
This region is generally covered by a LAR crew sent down from the Wangara area. This leads to excessive overtime, and crews driving 50+ minutes back to their depots to then knock off. This attributes to accumulative fatigue. The AEA are supportive of placing more Medic crews across the metro area, including the Rockingham and Mandurah areas.
During the last round of EBA negotiations the AEA were promised 10 of these crews per shift, however, surprise surprise… this never happened.
Forced Overtime
There appears to be an increase in the amount of shift extensions of late. Crews are getting calls in the last hour of their shift that are taking them way past their finish time. Again, we face one of the most significant questions of our time… what reasonable overtime is, this is a question we can not get answered by St John.
The AEA believe its time to get that answer, as we believe this will stop the constant unreasonable shift extensions throughout the state.
A Medic Certified Agreement
There are a number of our Medic colleagues that feel forgotten as they are contained within the Ambulance Transport Agreement. Many believe if they had their own Agreement there would be a greater emphasis on their profession.
The AEA agree, and in time we will ensure that a Medic Agreement comes into fruition.
FSH Directive for PTS Crews
St John was asked to speak to FSH and ask the question regarding paperwork, as crews are often required to split to facilitate the documentation. It was basically asked by the membership; what would they like us to do when a patient requires two people to manage them, and one of us must leave?
St John was advised by FSH; the crew looking after the patient can ask for assistance from the hospital staff if their condition is deteriorating. If the patient is of a higher risk, we need to question their suitability for Patient Transport. The Senior St John management team will raise with FSH and TL’s to support with advice around which patients are not suitable for PTS.
SOC JCC
Many of our SOC colleagues want to see some movement on the pertinent issues they are facing on a day-to-day basis.
Audits
Members have raised numerous times that peer reviewed audits are more palatable to employees. To assess a call and provided feedback the person should be qualified in the role and understanding of the processes and intricacies of the role. Our SOC and Wangara colleagues are audited by employees not proficient with their policies, or even worked in their role.
St John have promised for the past two years that this will change, and we have been advised that that change is almost here. The AEA will ensure this new system is not delayed any further.
Lack of Policies
The AEAWA have been made aware of certain emails that are sent to SOC staff outlining rapid changes to normal procedures with no consultation or policy for staff to refer too. The AEA although never keen on many of the St John policies, as they often appear, disappear and change with nil consultation. The AEA are in constant discussion with St John over this.
Back Pay Used for Negative Special Leave
The AEAWA were contacted by numerous members regarding the EBA back pay, and the requirement for them to have to pay back Special Leave. Those with negative Special Leave balances were allegedly advised their balances must be set to ‘o’.
Members have forwarded the following email to the AEAWA.
“Regarding special leave any Team Members who wish to use their backpay to repay any owing special leave will also be required to repay any allowances paid to them during their special leave, such as day and night, shift, and rotating roster allowances. If you have already organised the repayment but do not wish to proceed, please contact Payroll as soon as possible”.
St John advised that this was not the case, and that officers were given the option to pay their back payments into their Special Leave if they were in a negative balance. This was a voluntary option.
If any member, did feel pressured to pay back their balance they can contact the AEAWA directly to discuss.
Changes To Overtime
Members contacted the AEAWA regarding a change in which overtime is being scheduled by St John. Some officers have been advised that overtime will only be provided for full shifts only, while other officers have been advised that overtime is only given to shift lengths that are 7-hours and above.
After discussion it appears there has been some initial confusion, now we are working under the new Communications Officers Certified Agreement.
‘Scheduled’ shifts (i.e. normal rostered shifts) cannot be rostered for below 7-hours, which was a Fair Work requitement which was implemented during the last round of negotiations. Overtime shifts are not classed as scheduled shifts, so officers can come in on ICBs for time periods below 7-hours. St John will discuss internally and sort this issue.
Transport JCC
Our Transport colleagues like the rest of the service have numerous issues they would like to see resolved at their Joint Consultative meetings.
Process for Increasing Clinical Scope SOP
The SOP requires discussion, many members are not happy with the requirements set by St John, and the fact they are being used as an ad hoc ambulance service. Resourcing in many areas is so poor, it is difficult to get a paramedic crew to assist on scene, as they are quite often not available. This leaves Transport Officers to deal with the patient. Currently ATOs cannot even use their EMT training and qualifications to be signed off for a Transport CEP, but St John are happy to use them as paid Transport Officers and paid EMTs.
Employees Unable to Work Overtime
The process of crews contacting PTS comms to state they must knock off on time may need reviewing. On numerous occasions crews have tried to call (on three occasions) and were unable to get through. It’s one thing to have a policy, but when it does not work, what is the process? Stay tuned, as we are about to get one.
06
AEAWA Bulletins.
Important information related to our service.
WAPOL Non-Attendance
May 3rd 2024
As you will be aware a recent WAPOL directive has been sent out to the fleet stating they will not be attending many of our historic calls for assistance. Over half of the warnings, we had on our system are now deleted.
So, now we have instances where patients on scene have been threatening to kill others and the Police are refusing to attend.
This is beyond dangerous for all front line crews
If you arrive at a scene or are sent to a call where you and you perceive a threat on route. CALL FOR POLICE, that’s your job done! It is NOT OUR JOB to enter scenes such as these, its theirs. If they don’t want to attend, then we do not go in. ITS THAT SIMPLE!
Officers who feel pressured to enter a scene they perceive is dangerous should NOT GO INTO IT. The AEAWA will support its members 100%
YOUR SAFETY IS OUR PRIORITY
Everyone deserves to go home after shift, uninjured.
Booking Off Sick
June 24th 2023
It has come to our attention that St John have instructed SOC and Rosters to “capture” why officers are booking off and are asking above the standard “sick” or “personal” leave, what is the reason you are off. Many officers have contacted the AEA, and the advice given is the current requirements as follows.
- You must give at least 2 hours for a day shift and 4 hours for a night shift where possible.
- You will be asked if it is personal or sick leave.
- You may need to submit a medical certificate or a Statutory Declaration.
- Either is acceptable evidence.
- You do not need to provide anything further.
Section 33.3 (h)
St John may require an Employee, and the Employee must provide, satisfactory documentary evidence in relation to a period of personal/carer’s leave. The Employee must provide to St John a medical certificate from a registered health practitioner. If it is not reasonably practicable to provide a medical certificate, the Employee may provide a statutory declaration, which sets out the reasons for the Employees absence from work and the estimated duration of the Employees incapacity.
Section 33.3 (i)
An Employee is required to provide evidence/certification for any personal leave exceeding 2 continuous days or where they have taken in excess of 4 calendar days in any calendar year.
07
Paramedic EBA
After successful campaigns during the PTS and Communications Officers EBA negotiations, the AEAWA are looking for a similar result as we have entered our third month of bargaining. Well, that's where the niceties finish unfortunately. There are many items on the AEAWA Log of Claims that have been rejected. This round of negotiations has seen numerous changes in bargaining tactics. For example, St John for the first time has refused to pay back pay for these negotiations.... which to say the least, has annoyed the fleet. We need to remember that.
As you would know, these EBA negotiations (especially the Paramedic one), can continue for quite some time. Whilst many on the negotiations team believe our grand kids will be negotiating this Agreement, there is still hope that St John may one day, come to the party and review many of the initial rejections.
The AEAWA will continue to push for greater conditions with every claim, and as we enter our fourth month of negotiations your bargaining team understands the journey we are about to embark on. It will be long and arduous, but we need to fight the fight for what we are worth. For years St John have taken advantage of that. Crews coming in early for unpaid work, working 13-hour shifts (plus shift extensions) without breaks and refusing to answer simple questions, like.... what is 'reasonable overtime'.
The AEAWA urges you to keep informed, read the Facebook posts, look at the website under the 'EBA' tab, and talk to your delegates and each other. Please click on the EBA tab to review the minutes, upcoming agendas and your Log of Claims.
The Main Rejected Items
Although there are many items that have been rejected by St John, our members in no uncertain terms want the following items to be successfully negotiated as a matter or urgency.
08
The 'Report' Button
As you would be aware, the AEAWA website has a ‘Report’ button. Each month approximately 30 members report an issue to the committee. These issues are identified in various meetings with St John senior management. Some issues are placed in the JCC agenda, some are dealt with promptly with senior St John management teams, depending on the issue. Here are some of the most common issues members reported on last month.
The Report Button also identified the following issues
St John still not providing meal breaks
St John not paying the SCA
Failures with the Progression Policy
Most reported incident (8 members)
Mandurah area left with no Ambulance Service.
Members have raised concerns over the Mandurah Depot being closed or significantly under resourced if the only Ambulance in the area is sent on a transfer to the city.
Second highest reported incident (5 members)
Denied Triple Time
Members raised concerns over being advised by rosters that there were no shifts available, when there were clearly positions available.
09
Frequently Asked Questions
On a daily basis the AEA is contacted by the membership with questions relating to their employment. Questions about Policies, our Certified Agreement and pay etc are some of the most frequently asked. The AEAWA have added some of the most common questions here.
Am I entitled to a P8 back to returning to my starting depot?
In regard to P8 return to depot for a dynamically deployed crew, the current policy is that:
“Crews who are dynamically deployed will be provided a Priority 8 card allowing adequate travel time to return to their original station as per the Standard Operating Procedure, Vehicle Deployment (SOPC-1001). While on the Priority 8 card, the crew can be tasked to a Priority 0 or 1 case. Consideration may be given to Priority 2 cases if no other resource is available within a reasonable travel distance to meet the community response. An on-scene take-over crew will be considered if the situation results in the above scenarios.”
If your travel time back to your start depot (and then on to home) will be excessive or unreasonable, please contact MMSOC early into the shift and advise as to the relevant points of the ‘Reasonable Overtime’ clause 30.12. However, if you are a single officer returning to a location, you should request a P8 for return to depot and while a single officer you cannot be tasked to any call.
Can I have my start time moved two hours before a night shift?
Firstly, it is important to remember you are under no obligation to answer your phone, read or act upon messages received in your downtime. The AEAWA is aware that rosters have begun to indicate a dual start time for Spare officers (for instance JOOSP D0700/0800 & N1800-1900).
It is our view a spare officer is, by default, also a rotating officer and that this start time range is not a ‘start time’ in accordance with 30.12(c) of the Agreement, which states:
“Rotating Officers will be rostered to the same shift start time for a minimum 4-week period, unless agreed between St John and the Employee. A minimum of 21 days’ notice will be provided when there is a change in shift start time.”
The new practice does not even make sense in the context of 30.13(c) and 30.13(d) which respectively state;
- “Spare officers must report for duty according to the roster unless otherwise directed.”
- “Spare officers who are not rostered to a vehicle at a Station are required to contact the Duty Manager, State Operations Centre at the commencement of duty.”
In the context of the above, when exactly must a Spare officer (who is supposedly on two different start times) supposed to ‘report for duty’ and what is considered the time of ‘commencement of duty’?
We have written our strong objections to St John (attached) and informed them we will be advising our members who are rostered spare to assume 0700 and 1800 start times. It is the AEAWA view that you cannot have your start time changed ad-hoc prior to the start of your shift. This practice is designed to simply ‘prop up’ rostering deficiencies, and can have a huge impact on the ability of our members to plan life outside of work, organise child care, and manage their fatigue.
I have been advised that we can break and enter the property, as the Police are refusing to attend. Do I have to follow this order?
Although there is a SOP currently being written for crews to break and enter a scene, this still DOES NOT mitigate the risk of what happens when you enter a scene you have perceived as dangerous.
If you have perceived a risk this overrides any policy St John decide to write. Again, discuss with the Duty Manager and ask for a Manager to attend.
You may get told over the phone that you have been given a ‘lawful order’ to enter the property.
Whether an employee can refuse to comply with a lawful and reasonable direction will depend on its reasonableness, and this in turn will depend on the particular circumstances of the employee.
Where the request is reasonable, the failure of an employee to follow a lawful and reasonable direction may be grounds for the employer to take disciplinary action against that employee (such as issuing a warning), and in some cases may constitute a valid reason for dismissal, provided a fair process is also followed.
The AEAWA believe that entering a perceived or actual dangerous location, where an imminent threat is perceived, or approaching an aggressive or violent patient is not a reasonable or lawful request or order.
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AEAWA Information.
Information on AEAWA events, Surveys and upcoming meeting will be listed here.
AEAWA Surveys
The 2024 Culture Survey
St John have previously conducted Culture Surveys beginning 2016, followed by a further survey in late 2018. These Culture Surveys were designed to address a number of recommendations contained in three external reports into the workplace culture at St John. These reports were the Pheonix Report, the Independent Oversight Panel Report, and the Chief Psychiatrist Review.
The intention was to undertake regular surveys to ensure our organisation is a safe and supportive workplace. Fearful that the results of survey would highlight a worsening culture, St John cancelled the planned 2021 survey, and only reintroduced a survey in 2022 following a campaign from the AEAWA and it’s members. Now, the format of the survey has been changed. Rather conveniently, the format and the questions allow no direct comparison with previous surveys and have driven down participation. In short, it is now impossible to determine how the organisational culture has changed and evolved.
To enable a direct comparison with previous years, the AEAWA intend to continue running our annual, straightforward, no-nonsense culture survey. The AEAWA were confident we could get way more participation than the 27% obtained by St John’s new format, and we did. 671 members completed the survey, and the results were not that much different to last years. To view the survey results please visit www.aeawa.com.au/information/surveys/.
The AEAWA present St John with the results from the surveys on a regular basis. We understand that they may be time consuming at times, but we try to keep them as short and to the point as possible, and they are invaluable in identifying issues across the service, that St John often turn a blind eye too.
Survey Results
A total of 671 members completed the survey, which in all honesty is a brilliant result and coincidently three times higher than the total St John obtained from an entire service survey.
Some significant themes were
87% of participants believed change is not handled well by St John.
86% of participants believed there is no cooperation between various sections of St John
77% of participants believe senior management do not listen to staff
84% of participants believe our equipment is not kept up to date
The AEAWA survey results will be presented to St John minus any identifying areas (for those who entered there AP number, this has been deleted). St John need to understand what the workforce truly thiks about what is going on, and the issues we all face whilst trying to do our jobs.
CPD Updates
The AEAWA have been contacted by numerous members asking if we could assist in organising some CPD events, and would we be interested in advertising some seminars that come up from time to time to the membership.
Of course, the AEA would be happy to assist, if this is what the members would like to see. So, when events such as these present, the AEA will list them on our website under the ‘EVENTS’ tab, so please check there regularly.
The AEA like to keep emails to the membership to a minimum, same as the FaceBook page, so there is not a constant stream of information, these forums will be for immediate notifications only.
So far, the AEAWA have assisted in the following CPD events.
Thursday 10th October – Heat Stroke and Wound Treatment Seminar with Professor Steve Dunjey, Dr Corey Dalton and Dr Nicholas Neo.
Monday 14th October – Respiratory System Symposium with Dr. Marten Howes – Director of Clinical Training and Specialist Emergency Physician, Bunbury Regional Hospital and Dr. Andy Challen – Clinical Educator and Consultant Adult Anaesthetist.
Feedback has been these events have been beneficial and appreciated by some of the membership. Overtime there will be more, and hopefully focussing on a vast range of areas.
AEAWA Member of the Month
The AEA are pleased to announce Rob Sauer has won the ‘Member Benefit’ for October 2024. Rob was nominated for his professionalism, and for always showing a positive attitude toward his colleagues. Congratulations Rob, enjoy your overseas reward on the Rottnest ferry.
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The Media
From month-to-month AEA members, the service we work for and other pertinent related articles hit the Media. Here you will find 'the month that was', the good the bad and the ugly.
Channel 9 News September 3rd, 2024
Paramedics offered triple time as pressure mounts on ambulance service
ABC News September 27th, 2024
WA paramedics to remove stab-proof vests after trial sparked by death of Steven Tougher
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Our Next Issue
The next issue of AEAWA news (Volume 1 – Issue 3) is due out December 2024. Look for the newsletter under the ‘EXTRAS’ tab on the website.