Union secures wage increase of between 17% and 33% over four years

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Victorian paramedics are set to become some of the highest paid in the country. They've struck a new four- year pay deal with the state government after a long-running industrial dispute.

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00:00This will give Victoria's paramedics pay rises of between almost 17 and 33 per cent over

00:08four years, with experienced MICA paramedics getting the biggest uplifts.

00:13Importantly, it will also improve work conditions, with a clause that ensures that paramedics

00:19will get to end their shifts on time.

00:22The union says that this has been a worthwhile process, even though it's taken almost 20

00:26months and has been very tiring.

00:29In a joint statement, Ambulance Victoria and the union say that they have received more

00:34than 800 submitted claims, and they've heard directly from paramedics about their experiences

00:41and focused on key priority areas.

00:44They've acknowledged that negotiations have taken longer than anyone had hoped, and recognised

00:49the impact that this had on everyone.

00:52It certainly has been quite a bitter conflict.

00:54We've seen a vote of no confidence in the leadership, a change in CEO at Ambulance Victoria,

01:00and also, according to the union, a lot of staff burnout.

01:03And the state government here says that it hopes that this deal will make paramedics'

01:08careers that much more sustainable.

01:11The union is calling on its members to lock in this deal and vote for it, once the agreement

01:17has actually been properly and formally drafted over the next several weeks.

01:22So this ends a major stoush that the state government was facing, however it still faces

01:28pay fights on two other fronts with emergency workers, that of police and firefighters.

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