News

Last night, the Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU) and United Workers Union (UWU) reached an in-principal agreement with Ambulance Victoria (AV) and the Victorian Government on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

As an in-principal agreement has been reached, all protected industrial action must now cease.

Please note that this is a snapshot. Detailed bulletins will follow as soon as we can complete them. You will be provided with plenty of detail in coming weeks so that you are well informed. However, members will be given the opportunity to vote on a package of improvements to wages and working conditions that include the following.

All current EBA entitlements protected. No loss of current conditions.

Wage increases of 4% per year to aggregated base rates comprising of:

• 3% increase to aggregated base rates in line with Government wages policy and
• additional 1% allowance added to aggregated base rates in exchange for retention and productivity

Indicative compounded wage increases will range from:

• 16.98% over 4 years for ACOs.
• 16.98% over 4 years for ALS positions level 1-9.

This is a true uplift to your superable salary and does not include additional increases (approximately 1% per year) that occur when moving between levels 1-9, achieved in last EBA.

NEPT positions (ATA, PTO and CTS) will be moved into the ALS 1-9 structure allowing additional annual increases (approximately 1% per year).

In addition to the above there will be new increments to level 12 introduced over the second and third year which delivers:

• 1% between levels 9-10,10-11,11-12.
• 2% between levels 9-11
• 3% between levels 9-12.

This compounds to over 20.5% over 4 years for ALS, NEPT, all non-MICA positions above level 9. Any member who is year 9 on the first day of the agreement will receive more than 20% over the life of the agreement.

In addition to the above, all MICA qualified positions receive $12,500 relativity uplift ($6500 in year 1 & $6000 in year 2).
Overall indicative percentage increases for MICA range from:

• 24% – 32% over 4 years for MICA positions level 1-9 ($12,500 uplift + 16.98%)
• 27% to 33% over 4 years for MICA positions above level 9 ($12,500 + 20.5%)

 % amounts vary as $12,500 has a different % depending on position in the structure.

For example, $12,500 is equivalent of 13.88% of a MICA trainee aggregated base rate and 7.68% of a MICA Flight STM aggregated base rate.

• New MICA salary maintenance entitlement.
• New ACO availability allowance – $5 per hour when ACOs make themselves available to respond  from their local branch.
  • Allowance begins from year 2 while ACOs are added to roster system
  • ACOs receive $2000 in first year
• Improvement to rules of ACOs filling paramedic shifts. ACO will be replaced with paramedic if  paramedic becomes available.
• Minimum 4 hour payment for ACOs rostered into paramedic shifts sent home if paramedic becomes   available.
• In ACO only teams, ACO Team Leader able to claim up to 4 hours per week for approved admin duties.
• Referral Service Team Leaders – Current year 9 becomes new year 1 and salary structure      continues from there – to set relativity between RSTP and RSTL.
• Senior Resourcing Officers – Current year 9 becomes new year 1 and salary structure continues    from there – to set relativity between RO and SRO
• Reliever Salary Rates Relativity aligned
• Agreed process to develop wage for Paramedic Practitioners at a rate higher than ALS and MICA  positions.
• Emergency Management Planning Coordinators (EMPC) transferred to AVMA with role review to  benchmark positions against Co-ordinators and Area Managers.
• Administrative positions translate to AVMA
  • 5% (3% upfront and 2% in October under AVMA)
  • 4 x $1780 cost of living lump sum payment paid on signing
  • Further uplift from moving to new salary structure
  • Comms ASOs receive additional increase commensurate with receiving Comms Centre  Allowance.
  • Protection of all AVEA entitlements to current and future employees in translated classifications.
  • Total 8.8% increase for Communications ASOs in first year.
  • Total 9% increase for Logistic Support Officers in first year.
  • Total 6.2% to 7.9% for other Admin in first year.
  • Renegotiation of AVMA begins in April/May 2025.

Allowances:

• CI allowance – $6.25 per hour (up from $5.78) – increases to $6.50, $6.76, $7.03 over life      of agreement.
• Unsociable shift allowance – $185 per shift (up from $162)
• Unsociable shift on-call allowance – $13.45 per hour (up from $11.21)
• Ongoing indexation of on-call unsociable shift allowances (3% per year)
• Indexed allowances in Appendix 9 to increase by 3% per year
• Travel per kilometre reimbursement rates to increase from $0.75 to $0.88 and be paid to members with electric vehicles.
• Ongoing increases to travel per kilometre in line with ATO rates.

End of shift management – Phased in over 12 months.

• No Code 2’s or 3’s in last hour of shift.
• Members will be marked out of service at the end of every shift. Once out of service crews can only be dispatched to a Priority Zero case that a Clinician has assessed as genuine.
• Completely out of service after 14 hours.
• Further improvements to your ‘right to refuse’ unreasonable overtime.
• Improvement to ‘downgrade’ arrangements – for example if you are sent to a Code 1 in the last hour, then that case is downgraded to a Code 2, you are taken off that case. Also applies to meal breaks.
• On-call crews will be entitled to a ‘Protected Hour’ in the first hour of an on-call period. No Code 2’s or 3’s in first hour of on-call period. If there is no on-period after rostered shift, then new EOS provisions apply. 

Communications staffing

• Additional communications staff – 84 additional FTE including Clinician, DM and CSP, to assist with workload, end of shift management and to allow screen breaks to occur.
• Introduction of ALS clinicians to assist with case review for end of shift management/meal breaks.
• Additional Flight Coordinators to assist with workload and allow screen breaks.

There is also a significant improvement to other working conditions and entitlements including:

• New three-tiered rural shift allocation model to reduce reliance on forced spare requiring AV to properly recruit to and exhaust RSRPs and volunteers. $100 per day for flexible shifts, $65 per day for flexible cycle, or refuse and start and finish at your home branch. RSRP travel arrangements apply.
  • Introduces the option of a flexible cycle allocation at one location
  • Introduces the right to reasonably refuse.
  • Metro increased payments from $49 to $65 per shift for flexible cycle and $100 for flexible shifts (day to day reserve).

• New SDO clause – increase access to ‘Single Days Off’, ability to lock in 12 months ahead, cash out option, AV will not unreasonably refuse requests.
• Introduction of Timebank into the EBA to allow entitlement to become enforceable.
• Improvements to Priority to Fill clause – annual payments come earlier, its open to MICA branches, and a new process to allow people to return their original branch.
• Improvements to union representation and your rights to be represented in meetings with      management.
• Improvements to performance management, disciplinary and procedural fairness clauses
• 30 mins meal breaks for all shifts 6 hours or more.
• Ability to stagger the window of opportunity on agreement of branch.
• New hour count clause with improved protections for claim overtime after roster changes.
• New OHS clause with major improvements to health and safety protections and ability of HSRs to perform their role.
• New workload clause to allow workplaces to raise concerns about workload and develop measures to deal with high workload
• New bullying and harassment clause with improved protections for members
• New meal break provision for on-call crews.
• New transition to retirement clause.
• New ACO meal break entitlement from 20 to 30 minutes to align with their paramedic partner.
• Improved Flexible Working Arrangement clause.
• Wage progression when in an acting in a higher level position and ability to have time in acting positions taken into account when appointed. 
• Improved employee engagement through new consultation clause.
• Better protections for people in fixed term employment.
• Improvements to casual conversion clause.
• Improvements to family and domestic violence leave clause
• New Organ Donor/Bone Marrow leave – 6 weeks for an organ donation and 1 week for a bone marrow donation.
• New Assisted Reproductive leave – members who have 15 days or fewer in personal leave will have  access to 5 days per annum for the purposes of undertaking assisted reproductive  procedures  (primary carrier or partner).
• Improvements to the parental leave clause

• 10 Keeping in touch days able to be undertaken as observer shifts at ordinary rate of pay
• New Gender Affirmation Leave clause
• New Gender equality clause
• New right to disconnect clause protecting against contact after hours unless in a position paid for that commitment.
• New leadership and development clause
• New Recruitment principles clause
• Ongoing review of access to rural accommodation
• Improved Anti-discrimination clause
• Improved Long Service Leave clause
• Provide an all-weather jacket (Car Coat) to all operational employees (including casuals) as part of uniform.
• Payment of travel for full-shift overtime after 60 minutes of travel
• Damaged, lost or stolen headphones to be reimbursed up to $600
• Improved Four for Five arrangement
• New 6 month career break clause
• Screen intensive duties clause and additional staff to allow breaks for Triage Services, Flight Coordinators, DMs, CSPs and Clinicians.

Alongside the EBA will be:

• A new working group to improve payslip readability.
• Additional roster lines for MICA flight paramedics to allow more appointments
• AV will appoint to all substantively vacant permanent positions in Ambulance Response Units.
• Allocation of final work location/area for GAPs at time of recruitment.
• The VAU is also working with the Government on reforming a working group to review call-taking and dispatch and revisit the unfinished work from the APPCC around improving accuracy of call-taking (RAD) as well as ambulance ramping.
• Outcome of NEPT review coming soon.

If successful, this deal delivers:

• The biggest improvements to AV working conditions in decades.
• The best end of shift management protections in Australia.
• Wage increases that keep AV paramedics on par with the highest paid in Australia.
• Increases that make Victorian MICA paramedics by far the highest paid in Australia.
• Recognition of longevity and experience in the job better than any anywhere in Australia.
• Recognition of ACOs for their commitment to their community.
• Moves NEPT members into annual progression structure.

The VAU State Council have endorsed this deal and will be strongly encouraging members to lock it in by voting yes when you have the opportunity.

None of this would be possible without the industrial action taken by members, in particular the actions that created public pressure on AV and the Government.