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Katie Woolf spoke with United Workers Union Secretary Erina Early · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf. Join the conversation with Katie Wolf,
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  Speaker 1: you are our eyes and ears in the Territory Mixed
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  Speaker 1: one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 2: We do know that there's some concerns at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: some pretty serious concerns from our remote territory paramedics. They've
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  Speaker 2: told the Northern Territory News that they're ready to walk
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  Speaker 2: off the job due to severe fatigue, with some concern
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  Speaker 2: a serious incident could occur now. Apparently ambos from GO
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  Speaker 2: of Tenant, Creek and Catherine, who didn't want to be named,
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  Speaker 2: told the paper that they are at breaking point due
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  Speaker 2: to the on call roster and current fatigue management systems.
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  Speaker 2: Now joining us on the line to tell us a
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  Speaker 2: bit more about these concerns is the United Workers' Union
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  Speaker 2: secretary Erina Early.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you. Oh Katie, ye very well.
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  Speaker 2: Erina doesn't sound like, oh, our paramedics are going real
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  Speaker 2: well in remote communities at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: Talk us through what's happening.
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  Speaker 3: So basically, Katie, the paramedics in remote like you said,
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  Speaker 3: go TenneT, Creek and Catherine, are at breaking point. Their
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  Speaker 3: current roster arrangements that they have don't provide them any
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  Speaker 3: arm fatigue. They're exhausted, Like for example, in Tenet Creek
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  Speaker 3: they can work up to ninety six hours. In Catherine,
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  Speaker 3: they're on call arrangements is they're not getting sufficient minimum
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  Speaker 3: breaks and they're getting a couple of hours per shift.
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  Speaker 3: They're exhausted, and they're really worried that because of their
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  Speaker 3: exhaustion that could actually impact the patient.
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  Speaker 1: Aerona, when you said ninety six hours of what period
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  Speaker 1: of time.
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  Speaker 3: Usually they're in the four day shift.
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  Speaker 1: Goodness me. So they're on call basically the whole time. Absolutely,
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  Speaker 1: it must be tough.
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  Speaker 2: You know in those in those smaller towns going through
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  Speaker 2: this and really not having those fatigue management systems in place.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, well, basically Saint John are aware of these concerns.
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  Speaker 3: The stuff have been bringing them up for years and
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  Speaker 3: years and years. But the paramedics go out and do
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  Speaker 3: their job. But it is getting worse and worse for them,
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  Speaker 3: and they're at the stage now where they've had enough
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  Speaker 3: and they're going out and talking about their issues now
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  Speaker 3: with the public.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, now I know that this is sort of this
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  Speaker 2: information comes out as well as part of a survey
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  Speaker 2: that was conducted erin how many participants took part in
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  Speaker 2: that survey and what else did they tell you?
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  Speaker 3: Okay, so they're survey really interesting, Katie. So out of
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  Speaker 3: one hundred and eighty union members, one hundred and forty
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  Speaker 3: seven responded, okay, be quite a good result for us.
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  Speaker 3: So it was really interesting. Some of the big ones
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  Speaker 3: was that one of the question was are you aware
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  Speaker 3: of Saint John holding back patient calls and cruise to
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  Speaker 3: avoid pain over time? Seventy eight percent of members said
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  Speaker 3: Saint John do it?
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  Speaker 2: So so sorry, tell me what exactly that means? What
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  Speaker 2: do you mean holding back cruise?
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  Speaker 3: So for example, yourself, Katie, calls up and you're saying
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  Speaker 3: that you need an ambulance and your paramedics straight away.
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  Speaker 3: And so basically what will happen is you're getting a
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  Speaker 3: change of cruise come across. Saint John are holding those
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  Speaker 3: crews so they don't have to pay over time.
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  Speaker 1: What does that mean for patients?
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  Speaker 3: Well, it could mean life and death. Where we ex serious, Katie?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it sounds like it. What else did
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  Speaker 2: this survey find, well, with increased.
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  Speaker 3: One that does make me chuckle. So your views my
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  Speaker 3: chuckle with this, Katie. What in the question was do
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  Speaker 3: you think Saint John are disingenuous so basically lie to
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  Speaker 3: the media when they're portrayed negatively. Eighty eight percent of
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  Speaker 3: the members said yes.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, look, I mean some of that's quite quite concerning
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  Speaker 2: to hear, and we will try our best to see
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  Speaker 2: if we can get somebody on from Saint John as
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  Speaker 2: well to respond to this.
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  Speaker 1: Erina, how do.
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  Speaker 2: You guess what's the path in moving forward here to
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  Speaker 2: try and address some of the concerns that our paramedics have,
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  Speaker 2: because by the sound of it, they're pretty serious concerns.
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  Speaker 3: They're absolutely are serious. Kt The reason we put out
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  Speaker 3: these surveys and we want to release it to the
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  Speaker 3: public KD is people need to be aware what is
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  Speaker 3: going on. As you are aware, we have been campaigning
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  Speaker 3: to bring the ambulance service back to government. It shouldn't
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  Speaker 3: be privatized. We think there's more accountability in the government service,
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  Speaker 3: right with your fireyes, police, the hospitals, etc. Seventy eight
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  Speaker 3: percent of our members said in their survey they want
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  Speaker 3: the ambulance service to go back to government. There's questions
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  Speaker 3: there about lack of trust for Saint John management. They
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  Speaker 3: don't trust. They don't trust the government, the CLP or
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  Speaker 3: the labor government in regards to their support for paramedics.
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  Speaker 3: This survey would set send shields through every territori in
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  Speaker 3: eron to.
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  Speaker 1: Play Devil's advocate.
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  Speaker 2: I know that some people listening might be thinking to themselves, Oh,
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  Speaker 2: this is the Union trying to you know, trying to
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  Speaker 2: get our paramedics back into government hands. They don't want
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  Speaker 2: it privately run. What would you say to those people?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the thing is I think people say, oh, well,
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  Speaker 3: you know, it's going to cost the government money. They
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  Speaker 3: can't afford it. The government already paying for the ambulance
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  Speaker 3: service to government. To Saint John, they're the ones paying
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  Speaker 3: for it. The ambulance service is fully funded by the government.
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  Speaker 3: If it's brought back to government, there is accountability. Saint
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  Speaker 3: John do their own investigations into clinical mispractices, court cases, etcetera.
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  Speaker 3: There's absolutely no accountability for Saint John Ambulance. They're not
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  Speaker 3: an ambulance provider. They are a first aid provider and
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  Speaker 3: a fantastic volunteer provider.
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  Speaker 1: Can I just ask I know that you said.
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  Speaker 2: One hundred and forty seven members responded to the survey.
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  Speaker 1: How many paramedics do we have in the territory?
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  Speaker 3: So paramedic I just can't get off the top of
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  Speaker 3: my head, but we had out of that result, eighty
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  Speaker 3: three percent of that one hundred and forty seven were
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  Speaker 3: paramedics that responded okay in our survey.
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  Speaker 2: Eric, can I just ask you very quickly about something
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  Speaker 2: that you and I have spoken about in the past,
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  Speaker 2: and that is our staff out out at the jail.
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  Speaker 1: How things going out there?
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  Speaker 2: I know that previously there been some concerns from our
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  Speaker 2: correction stuff. How are things going for our correction staff
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  Speaker 2: at the moment?
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  Speaker 3: So with corrections, Look, we're taking day by day Katie,
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  Speaker 3: with correction and we're still working with management about making
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  Speaker 3: sure we've got safe staffing levels, yes, for our correctional officers.
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  Speaker 3: But their enterprise agreement kicks off next month, so will
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  Speaker 3: be interesting how we're going to deal with that with
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  Speaker 3: a wage free and the expectation of our correctional officers.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, how has that been you know, how has that
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  Speaker 2: wage freeze sort of been been taken by you know,
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  Speaker 2: by the members of your union.
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  Speaker 3: Well, at the moment, Katie, we've got the MTPS General
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  Speaker 3: where we're negotiating with CPSU ETU and other unions. So
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  Speaker 3: our health members, you are your cleaners, you're catering radiogras, etc.
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  Speaker 3: We're not accepting that wage free. That's their policy. It's
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  Speaker 3: not our members policy. And that's the same for the
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  Speaker 3: fieries you'll start next month as well.
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  Speaker 1: And so what's going to happen?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, if you guys don't accept that wage free
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  Speaker 2: is that the government has put on the table.
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  Speaker 1: What is going to happen?
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  Speaker 3: It's going to be a long negotiation. So and you
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  Speaker 3: know there'll be we're in election in three and a
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  Speaker 3: half years time.
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  Speaker 1: Well, so a long negotiation. I mean erinor are we
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  Speaker 1: talking strikes here?
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  Speaker 3: I definitely would have them on the table. They're absolutely table.
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  Speaker 1: I mean is it fair?
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  Speaker 3: Like?
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  Speaker 2: I know a lot of people listening will be thinking
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  Speaker 2: to themselves, goodness, may I've had to you know, have
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  Speaker 2: a pay freeze and I've had to take a you know,
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  Speaker 2: a reduction in my wage or I've had to change
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  Speaker 2: my working hours as a result of COVID and as
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  Speaker 2: a result of the economy and the economic situation that
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  Speaker 2: we're in.
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  Speaker 1: Is it fair?
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  Speaker 3: Well, you need to really assess the situation of it, Kadi.
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  Speaker 3: So government is meant to be the leading employer. So
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  Speaker 3: the leading employer needs to make sure that they have
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  Speaker 3: got fair and reasonable wages and conditions, which filter down
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  Speaker 3: to the private sector. If government workers, who have the
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  Speaker 3: biggest employer are not sufficiently paid, they will not be
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  Speaker 3: putting money back into the economy, which will severely impact
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  Speaker 3: your private So all of my members that I represent,
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  Speaker 3: correctional officers and fiery, the service workers at the hospital,
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  Speaker 3: they are not asking for unreasonable demands. They just want
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  Speaker 3: to ensure that they can afford to live and maintain
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  Speaker 3: in the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: So, Erina, when do you reckon?
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  Speaker 2: I mean, when is this all sort of going to
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  Speaker 2: kick off, because as you said, it's going to be
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  Speaker 2: a long negotiation. We can expect strikes. How soon is
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  Speaker 2: all of this going to really kick off?
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  Speaker 3: Well, then, tobs general, we haven't got any offers yet
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  Speaker 3: or anything, so we're still really early, Katie. Yep, and
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  Speaker 3: correction and fieries don't start until the end of May June,
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  Speaker 3: so really you're not going to see anything until later
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  Speaker 3: in the year.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Erina early, We always appreciate your time. Thank you
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  Speaker 2: very much for coming on this morning and having a
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  Speaker 2: chat with us.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you, Katie, hope you have a lovely day.
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  Speaker 1: You too, Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: That is Eron Early there, the United Workers Union secretary.
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  Speaker 2: And you know I called it a few weeks ago.
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  Speaker 2: I reckon the government is going to struggle to get
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  Speaker 2: this wage freeze across the line. I know that plenty
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  Speaker 2: of you that work in private entities wouldn't feel a
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  Speaker 2: huge amount of sympathy at this point in time around
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  Speaker 2: that wage freeze.
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  Speaker 1: But I tell you what, it's going to be a
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  Speaker 1: real sticking point for the government.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be an interesting, interesting thing to watch unfold.
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  Speaker 2: Eight nine four one one four nine is the number