Treasurer Daniel Mookhey,Health Minister Ryan Park,HSU secretary Gerard Hayes and Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan joined paramedics at Randwick Ambulance station to announce the pay agreement.Credit:Nick Moir
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said paramedics had won a “hard fought” victory,which underscored the government’s decision to abolish the Coalition’s wages cap,allowing for the wages deal to be delivered.
“There is no doubt that our paramedics have been able to provide multiple layers of evidence which suggests how much their profession has changed,” he said.
The record wages increase for paramedics comes just three months after the state’s 95,000 teachers secured a deal that ensured many would become the best paid in the country.
The Coalition accused the government of breaking an election promise to fund public sector wage increases entirely through productivity savings rather than cuts to the state’s budget.
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce hugs a paramedic at Randwick Ambulance station after the announcement.Credit:Nick Moir
The breakthrough comes 24 hours after Park foreshadowed a deal was imminent,saying “good progress” had been made after negotiations went deep into the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Hayes had urged the decision-makers in the NSW government to organise a meeting in which a deal could be thrashed out,warning an offer needed to be resolved by Friday to ensure the requisite administrative work could be processed in time.
An initial wages deal proposed by the government was rejected by the HSU as being insufficient,with paramedics seeking a pay boost to bring NSW in line with the nation-leading wages available in Queensland.
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