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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