What the politicians are saying

I got an email today from a non-ambo who's taken an interest. They had sent out an email to various politicians, and got a reply back from the NSW Shadow Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner. If they get a reply from Reba Meagher or Tony Abbot, or anyone else, they'll forward them on to me and we'll publish them here too.

For now, here's what Jillian Skinner had to say:

I've been raising these issues on behalf of ambulance officers for a long time. They've been contacting me because they feel they don't get a hearing from their union, the Ambulance Service or the NSW Minister and her government. I've asked questions in parliament, raised their concerns through the media etc It got so problematic for the Minister a couple of months ago that she set up yet another (useless) inquiry!

The only way to keep the pressure on is for ambos to keep sending me material - worksheets, case studies, rosters, photos or ambulances banked up etc etc. I will not divulge the source if that is requested.

The latest exposure of ambulance problems I raised was just this weekend - based on the work sheet from Central Coast. If you want to see some of the press I've done on this please visit www.jillianskinner.com

I can be contacted through my Parliament House number 02 9230 3080 if you want to discuss some of these options further.

Regards

Jillian

Jillian Skinner, MP
Member for North Shore
Shadow Minister for Health
Shadow Minister for The Arts
Electorate: tel: 99092594 fax: 99092654
Portfolio: tel: 92303080 fax: 92303406

Like I said, if we hear anything from either of the Health Ministers, we'll publish them too.

A few things to keep in mind...

When we set up this blog, we wanted everyone to be able to have their say, uncensored and raw. And I think you'll all admit we've achieved that!

We're going to keep it that way, too. We're not going to remove anyone's comments because of bad language or personal attacks. Having said that, there are a few things to keep in mind when you're writing your comments:

Bad Language
I'm not offended by bad language and I use it every day. It looks like a lot of other people do to. But not everyone does, so keep that in mind when you're writing your comments. If it's not necessary, leave it out; if you think it is necessary, by all means, leave it in. After all, as that famous philosopher, Billy Connolly, once pointed out, "Fuck off!" is not the same as, "Go away." Choose what is appropriate.

Personal Attacks
I'll just make this observation: if you've got to resort to personal attacks, you've already lost the argument. (And if both sides are making personal attacks, you're both losers!)

We want people to be able to write their point of view. And if it is not the same as yours, go ahead and add your comment. Convince them they're wrong (or convince everyone else you're right). I've never seen anyone convince anyone else of anything by calling them names. It didn't work when we were kids, it still doesn't work now. If you're really passionate about something, you should be able to explain why.

Keep that in mind next time you add a comment. Everyone else will, when they read your comment.

And keep the comments coming!

Dear HSU, you're dropped!

Dear HSU,

This break-up letter should come as no surprise nor cause any heartache to someone as cold hearted as you. Time and again I've tried to get you to show me how much you care. Time and again I've been rudely rebuffed.

I have emotions. I have needs. I have love to express. But, Mr. Selfish, you just don't care that you make me feel like my needs, emotions, and pay and disability benefits are just not important. Well news flash, HSU, they are! So, after years I'm ending this charade of a relationship in hopes of finding someone who is emotionally mature enough to take care of me like I need to be.

Don't come crawling back on your hands and knees asking me to get lubed up and on mine, because I don't have to put up with that from you or anyone.

You see, to me and people who aren't dead inside like you, our pay demands and death & disability benefits are reasonable requests. They let me know that I am special and very important to you. The ironic things is how you always talked of taking our relationship to the next level, but you're just a Union of words, not actions. You gave me lip service and I wanted my needs serviced. I mean, what's more intimate and meaningful than sweet beautiful cash? You can keep your vows and veils and rings and ceremonies. I want something that actually means something. A pay rise is infinitely more meaningful than a trip down the aisle. It says that what we have is something special, something so important to both of us that it can only be expressed by actions.

But no... you say its dirty. It's wrong. It goes against the god-almighty government. Well boo-fucking-hoo. To us in the real world with hearts that function, that's called love. You don't have to sugar coat it, I know how you really feel about me. Its obvious that you're just hiding behind those absurd reasons because I am not the one for you. I truly hope you find some other poor deluded fools that you can bend over, jelly up, and screw over completely.

But it ain't gonna be me. Sadly, my love, I've got better things to do than being screwed over again and again.

Love,

Realambo

Thanks for all the comments! We're getting great feedback, and it's really nice to see I'm not the only one out there that feels like this. Don't be afraid to let others know about this site.

I've added a poll on the side asking what we should do about the HSU. Hopefully, it will give us an indication of whether we can get the 75% needed to change to the AEA (or whatever).

Keep up the comments!

The most trusted profession and the most ripped off!

There has been some talk about changing unions, can that be done? Can anyone shed some light on that? I think it's time we were in a union that represents emergency service people not cleaners, radiographers and such like. I can't believe my sub branch voted to accept that bullshit 4%. I didn't want that and i'm sure the majority of us didn't, how can they do that shit? Can we get together and tell our sub-branch to get that cancelled? I believe we should be taking strong industrial action now and not waiting. Nurses, Cops,got their pay rises what wrong with us? How about the media campaign for the nurses! TV ads all the time. On the radio, now look at our piss-weak unions efforts, Stickers and other crap! I'm sick of being the nice guy and copping it sweet. Lets get together fellow ambo's and get what we deserve. The most trusted profession and the most ripped off! We deserve to be paid a professional wage. Don't sell yourselves short. Time to get tough and be a solid strong unit!

Enough is enough!

Hi there, fellow ambo's.

How many times can we be shafted? Ripped off pay wise, ripped off workload wise, under-staffed, over-worked, treated like shit in general by management, not looked after by the State Government, not to mention a piss-weak union.

A few of us have put together this site to allow real ambos to have their say, unfiltered by bosses, governments or union reps. You can have your say, too, in the comments. Join in; we really want to hear from you (even if you disagree with what we say). You can also contact us at realambo.gmail.com.

Save the address http://realambo.blogspot.com/ in your bookmarks.