CHRISTMAS GREETINGS
On behalf of the AEAWA Committee and delegates we would like to wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please take the time to share the festive season with the ones you love as they ride every bump with you along the way.
We would like to thank our membership for your unwavering support and as a committee it is very much appreciated to represent such an amazing array of people.
2021 has been challenging in many ways and there is great uncertainty for the next 12 months however rest assured through your support we will continue to meet these challenges and protect the conditions of our profession that have been hard fought and won, over the last 40 years.
The AEAWA exist purely for our colleagues and this drives the committee to hold this management to account and it is with renewed vigor that we look forward to a positive 2022.
New Allocated Permanent Positions
As you may be aware AEAWA raised a dispute with SJA back in May in regards to clause 26.6 of the Enterprise Agreement ‘Allocated Positions’ and although we have had success with OPK24 and SPK23 and 28 new Day Ambulance Allocated Positions, we have not yet been successful with our remaining points of dispute for several additional 224 vehicles. This dispute has been ongoing for some time, and even though an agreement was made on the 8th October, there have been a variety of reasons as to why the implementation has been glacial. SJA had agreed to consult on the location of these new Allocated Positions SJA wanted to stagger start times to cover the demand period of a 24 hour shift and their Business Analytics needed to use logistics parameters to determine this. Vehicle placement is constrained by property and infrastructure limitations.
SJA had held off any implementation of the 28 day ambulance position until the 2/2/4 vehicles (call sign 27) dispute was heard at the Fair Work Commission The organization were in the process of purchasing new infrastructure at Cowcher place to accommodate these 4X4 resources. AEAWA have unfortunately not been involved in any consultation and although we communicated our requests in detail with significant evidence on location and start times they seem to have been largely ignored as management pursue the so called ‘hub and spoke’ model (super depots and dynamic deployment). The AEAWA have and will continually seek parity, fairness and transparency in any consultation especially with new Permanent Allocated Positions however when this consultation is non existent and our values are not reciprocal any implementation of resources becomes out of our control. SJA have informed AEAWA that the implementation of these positions will begin before the end of 2021 through an EOI which will be advertised shortly, our request to SJA is to have them filled by the start of the March roster.
SJA have acknowledged disparities of 4X4 shift colour coverage in the South West District and advised that these will be rectified with “additional resources in the next phase of growth.” Although these positions are few and may not be within everyone’s reach, it will open up significant number of 224 allocated positions due to backfilling. The AEAWA understand that allocated positions are valued by the vast majority of our members who appreciate the certainty and consistency of a permanent partner and a permanent depot, and will continue to resist this basic entitlement from being eroded.
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
We would just like to take a moment to reflect on the past year and provide some insight into what happens ‘behind the scenes’ at the AEAWA and to let you know some of the ways your committee has been working hard on your behalf.
The past 12 months has been very busy and there has been:
– Advice sought from our specialist employment lawyers on several occasions relating to a number of more complex issues.
– 26 members represented during disciplinary processes. Multiple meetings, interviews, phone calls and emails often accompany each investigation.
– 7 regional depots visited or assisted via video conference in order to represent country officers
– 28 full days of Ambulance Officer & Paramedic and Transport Officer Enterprise Bargaining negotiations attended
-10 Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meetings attended for our Transport, SOC and Paramedic members
– 4 internal dispute resolution meetings attended over our 27/47 Clause dispute seeking to covert more positions to permanent status
– 1 x F10 dispute lodged with St John and subsequent attendance at the Fair Work Commission relating to the above dispute.
– 2 x hearings for the the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Delivery of Ambulance Services attended (Hansard transcripts and recommendations should follow in March 2022)
– 2 Pandemic planning meetings attended (so far)
– 100+ hours of routine AEAWA committee meetings and strategy planning
– 1700+ emails sent and received regarding AEAWA business from members
-m8,000+ phone calls and text messages made and received by your executive committee members relating to Association business
– Many, many induction schools over the last 12 months to introduce the Association, taking pride in our ‘no pressure’, approach to joining our Association.
– 1 x Culture Survey researched, constructed and compiled with the results distributed to the CEO and Chairperson of the St John Board
– Campaigned against and attended multiple ad hoc meetings in relation to ramping, multi-patient care, safety, acoustic shock injuries in SOC, single officer clinical duties.
– Repeatedly campaigned internally and then externally to then Health Minister Cook Director General Russell-Weiz and for access to hospital amenities, resulting in improved access (though this is still an area which needs more work)
– And most importantly of all (for many of our members) we applied pressure upon the organisation to re-introduce the lesser spotted coveralls aka the ‘onsie’, aka ‘jump suit’ to the absolute distain of a certain CEO.
Your committee is entirely composed of unpaid members who are dedicated to protecting the working conditions of our membership. Thanks again to all for your support.
Merry Christmas
AEAWA Team