Next ambulance workers' campaign to start on 24 September

Staffing levels will be a priority for the negotiations over a new agreement in the ambulance sector. The FNV trade union has been organising a series of work-to-rule actions in the sector to highlight the urgent problem of understaffing. While extra funding for the service was agreed by the government last year, the union launched the protests as there was no guarantee that enough would be allocated to ensuring increased recruitment to the sector. The FNV wants to see improvements to pay and training to tackle staffing shortages, with many workers attracted to better pay and working time

In a number of key cities, ambulance workers, members of the FNV trade union, re-launched their campaign over understaffing and overwork with a work-to-rule. The workers will strictly abide by all relevant rules and regulations related to working time, working conditions and patient hygiene to demonstrate to employers how they are normally forced to cut corners because of the enormous pressure they are under to attend emergencies. The union says that with current staffing levels it is impossible to achieve target response times. See also epsucob@NEWS 02, January 2018 and 21, November 2017.