Ambulance Active Spring 2011Published By Countrywide Austral

Active Women
Mums returning to work –
what are the options?
Donelle Carver, Paramedic Bsc, Vice President AEAWA
Photo: St John Ambulance (WA)
Many female paramedics are facing leaving the ambulance industry as un-family friendly rosters continue to disadvantage women returning to work after having a baby.
“So, I’ve had my baby and I want to come back to work
but I can’t work full time. What options are available to me?”
I’d like a dollar for every time
a member raises that question, as there
is a growing number for nursing mothers
wanting to return to work.
It has also become problematic for most
ambulance authorities finding positions for
employees in a suitable situation for both
employee and employer.
In Western Australia, the recent increase
in staff as part of the State Government’s
funding towards ambulance services has
seen a marked increase in the numbers of
female officers joining the service.
It would be almost a 50/50 split with
male/female officers throughout the service
with approximately 60 percent of the
female workforce expected to take some
form of maternity leave in the coming years.
The Ambulance Employees Association
WA prepared for the introduction of part
time work in previous agreements with
employers in the form of job share and
casual position being made available. In the
last agreement, we introduced part time but
to this day management has discouraged
this, preferring to corral officers into a job
share arrangement or casual.
This is basically to preserve the current
format of the 224 and 4x4 roster patterns,
and also simplify the rolled-in-rate
agreement for pay.
Many officers returning to work are not
suited by the rotating roster pattern of
full time or job share, and casual work is
intermittent to say the least.
With the current expansion of vehicles
programmed in the current financial
year, officers who are not returning from
maternity leave are being denied job share
positions, which are being reserved for
mothers, but this has officers who have
family responsibilities up in arms.
Management and union are both
seeking a fair and equitable resolution
to this increasing problem and acknowledge
that experienced and qualified paramedics
are leaving the service due to the inability
to work within a family friendly roster.
The organisation is attempting to fast
track paramedics with many direct entrants
coming from other countries and interstate
services, however this is a process
that will take some years to keep the
metropolitan and country fleet expanding
at a manageable rate and accommodate
officers wishing to continue in their
chosen career.
It is fair to say the challenge is ahead
and we are actively looking at other state’s
programs, especially Victoria, which recently
introduced a handbook jointly produced
by Ambulance Victoria members and
management on policy for nursing mothers.
We are actively working to keep WA
members satisfied and the expansion so
desperately needed moving forward.
AMBULANCE ACTIVE SPRING 2011
27