HEALTH MINISTER MICHAEL FERGUSON’S PUBLIC STATEMENTS HAVE ANGERED PARAMEDICS …

… AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS – HIS OFFER IS DEVOID OF GENEROSITY!

The Minister for Health, Michael Ferguson, is misleading the Tasmanian community when he says he is offering a generous 6% pay offer which HACSU has rejected.

The real facts are that Ambulance staff are owed the same increases which other public sector workers received in 2014 and 2015. Minister Ferguson’s offer does not include those increases to Ambulance workers.

The offer the Minister made yesterday is to provide Ambulance Tasmania staff with 2% wage increases in 2016, 2017 and 2018 but does not provide anything for the missed 2014 and 2015 increases.

“In real terms he is offering 1% for the next 3 years.” Said Tim Jacobson, State Secretary of HACSU.

The last wages increase many Ambulance staff received was in December 2013.

In simple terms, the Minister is offering a 6% wage increase to workers over a five year period. It’s not difficult math, it doesn’t add up to 2% per annum which is the Governments wages policy.

Tim Jacobson said, “The Minister is deliberately misleading the Tasmanian Community on his offer to Ambulance staff and should be ashamed. Is this how the community expects its emergency services workers to be treated? I think not.”

The agreement reached with HACSU in February contained compensation for the increases workers were due in 2014 and in 2015.

“The Minister is deliberately misleading the Tasmanian public when he says the offer is superior. He needs to come clean and tell the community what Ambulance workers know, it’s not 6% over 3 years its 6% over 5 years equalling a 1.2% increase per year.” Tim said.

In addition, at yesterday’s meeting HACSU advised the Ministers’ representatives that if the Government wants staff to vote on the offer they are welcome to put it out to a ballot and the union will accept the outcome.

“The Minister knows our Members will reject a ridiculous offer like that”, said Mr Jacobson.
HACSU STATE SECRETARY, TIM JACOBSON