November 30 will be a line-in-the-sand moment for Ambulance Victoria with the release of the much-anticipated VEOHRC review. See below for further details on the release.
When the review was first announced by AV the focus was on sexual harassment, discrimination and victimisation. The AEAV pushed for the inclusion of bullying as we were well aware that this was a significant problem within AV and had been working with members across the state to expose these destructive behaviours for a number of months.
We are confident that the thoroughness of the review will provide AV with the information necessary to weed out these behaviours. The question will be the level of commitment from the Ambulance Victoria executive and the Victorian Government. We do not see that there is any way that the senior leaders of AV can rebuild the confidence of staff without some key people at the top of tree being asked to leave the organisation. We need strong actions, not hollow promises.
Next week will be an enlightening period for all associated with Ambulance Victoria and the subsequent response from AV and the government will underpin the success or failure of the review to force a wholesale cultural shift. Too many people inside and outside of AV have known of the issues and ignored them for too long. The commitment to change the culture requires equally strong commitments to hold those to account who failed the organisation and its staff.
ESTA DELEGATE SHARYNE MEETS WITH EMERG MINISTER
This week Delegate Sharyne Doensen met with the Emergency Services Minister, Hon. Jaclyn Symes to thank her for calling a review into ESTA’s capabilities, and to discuss ESTA’s Planned Pandemic Proposal. During the meeting Sharyne outlined the long held understaffing issues at ESTA and advocated on behalf of staff for increased government funding.
You can read the letter the union sent to the Minister after the meeting HERE.
ESTA PLANNED PANDEMIC PROPOSAL
AEAV has declined to sign ESTA’s Planned Pandemic Proposal after ESTA failed to respond to the union’s letter outlining issues with the proposal.
AEAV is unwilling to support the use of labour-hire without assurances from ESTA that this would be a one-off event. The union has called on ESTA to formally apologise to staff for failing to advocate on their behalf for a secure emergency telecommunications service and to outline what ESTA will do in the future to amend this.
VEOHRC REVIEW RELEASE
Volume 1 of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission review into Ambulance Victoria (VEOHRC) will be published on the 30th of November. Volume 1 focuses on how AV has approached preventing and responding to unlawful and harmful workplace conduct including discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation and bullying.
Once the review is released the AEAV will commence negotiations with AV on how the findings will be acted on. We will be engaging with our members throughout this process as it is vital that staff have significant input on how the review is received and how recommendations are implemented. The response to the review cannot be solely the remit of the executive alone or we’re effectively letting the fox design the henhouse.
We have prepared a media release in anticipation of the reviews release which you can read HERE.
INFLATED AV DATA HIDES THE REAL STORY
Earlier this year we exposed the practices of the Victorian government which requires Ambulance Victoria and other public health bodies to use questionable techniques to present key data on leadership, governance and culture in a favourable light.
With the imminent release of the VEOHRC review we feel it is timely to revisit this topic and we have prepared an article that will be published in the summer edition of Ambulance Active, which is due out in the coming weeks.
Last Friday AV released the outcomes of their 2021 People Matter survey. Obviously, we were aware that things are pretty bleak at the moment but I think the results will have surprised everyone. With the VEOHRC review around the corner the survey is a strong reminder of how bad things have got. Some of the most glaring results are:
18% of AV staff believe recruitment is fair & based on merit.
34% of AV staff believe senior leaders demonstrate honesty and integrity.
16% of AV staff believe AV have taken positive action as a result of 2020 survey.
23% of AV staff believe they have an equal chance of promotion.
33% of AV staff believe senior leaders consider psychological health as important as performance.
You can read more about our summary of the PMS HERE in the above-mentioned article submitted for Ambulance Active.
NEPT MEMBERS NEED RECOGNITION NOW!
The Government has so far ignored calls from NEPT Members who have not been acknowledged for their contributions responding throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The government heavily relies on NEPT members to carry an enormous load of risky work, and still has not acknowledged members with a Hospital Surge Support Allowance or a simple “thank you”. The union has been calling on the Health Minister’s office to ask why NEPT members are being treated as the emergency services poor cousin. We encourage NEPT members to call the union to discuss how we can collectively put pressure on the government to come to the table.
CO-POWER
AEAV is proud to announce a new initiative with Co-Power where union members can take back from huge energy corporations for the benefits of people and our planet. Cooperative power is a newly formed not-for profit for Australia’s energy sector.
The revenue generated from electricity goes to supporting Co-Power’s mission of fighting poverty, tackling the climate crisis, and supporting communities.
Last year, 100% of Co-Powers profit went toward mitigating the impact of COVID-19. This year, customer members are deciding how Co-Power will spend their revenue.
To learn more and join Co-Power, visit their webpage HERE.
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE
AEAV Paramedic Members enjoy the comfort of professional indemnity insurance as required by the Paramedicine Board of Australia.
Due to changes in Federal Legislation that come into effect in 2022, insurers need to ensure their claims’ handling process is carried out in Australia. An extended certificate of currency is provided for your registration renewal obligations. Your 12-month certificate will be provided as it comes to hand from the insurer.
You can find the latest copy of the insurance HERE.
JOKE OF THE WEEK
At a party, a young wife admonished her husband, “That’s the fourth time you’ve gone back for ice cream and cake. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Why should I be?” answered her spouse. “I keep telling them it’s for you.”
KEEP IN TOUCH
As always, if you have any issues, questions or queries, get in touch by leaving a message on 9287 1713 or email [email protected]
