Arbitration Update

The beginning of our arbitration is fast approaching with the first hearing dates set for July 1st to July 5th. Thank you to all those members who have so willingly provided their time and energy in preparing and submitting important witness affidavits to support our case. United Voice and the QAS have now exchanged witness material as required by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. We have been served with material from QAS outlining their claims and are shocked by some of the evidence put forward, particularly surrounding meal breaks. Management have claimed that the QAS is unfairly financially burdened by being required to pay meal overtime penalties when they can not control the nature of a 24 hour emergency service. The QAS also contend that, in some instances, the payment of the penalty is nothing more than a means for ambulance officers to manipulate the system for their own financial reward. They additionally argue that the penalty serves little industrial purpose in a 24/7 emergency service environment! In their affidavits, the QAS has, in some instances, sought to portray select ambulance stations and officers (no names identified) as inefficient and unproductive. The QAS contends that, according to Unit Hour Utilisation data, ambulance officers have sufficient down time in their shifts to consume meals and that therefore claims for meal overtime payments are illegitimate. It is claimed by the QAS that officers receive a substantial financial benefit from these payments for no apparent purpose. United Voice considers that the position adopted by the QAS is an insult to officers who frequently encounter large workloads and do not get their rightful meal breaks, due to providing a service to the community on behalf of the QAS. The QAS main goal is the reduction of current entitlements, specifically, the removal of your rights to a three month roster projection and payment of the meal overtime penalty. For this reason we must focus our energy on stepping up our fight to maintain what we already have. It is for this reason alone, we are not able to pursue the entire breadth of our log of claims in this arbitration. We have consulted with our legal advisors and our State Council in order to reach the decision that our focus must be on maintaining our existing conditions and securing a decent wage increase. We know that if we lose the entitlements we already have, we will never get them back again. This EB negotiation and arbitration is the toughest weve ever encountered because we have never had to deal with a Government so intent on destroying our ambulance service. What can you do? Ensure your contact details are up to date so that we can communicate with you quickly. Speak to your workmates about the importance of being a union member. Talk to friends, family, patients and encourage them to stand with us. Speak to your local member of parliament about your concerns.

The Professional Ambulance Officers Union

EB

2012

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Authorised by Gary Bullock, United Voice Queensland, 27 Peel Street South Brisbane