Ambulance Services Campaign Success

It's always nice to see a good outcome from activism. Below is an email following the Ambulance Service campaign, in which I - along with many others - participated. I didn't have to spend a lot of time to be active in the campaign in order to experience the shared sense of achievement at its success. I heartily recommend 'desk chair' activism to all those with an interest in living in a fair and socially just world. Check out my links if you're inspired to get into action.

Response Time! latest news: Your support has been vital in winning a safer ambulance service

Dear friend,
Together we have won a safer ambulance service.
Late last night, the government finally agreed to 10-hour rest breaks and fairer wages for paramedics.
Proper rest breaks will make life safer for ambos, and safer for the public.
Many paramedics are convinced that someone would have died unnecessarily because of fatigue.
Your support over the 15-month campaign has been crucial in making this government wake up and address fatigue.
Your emails, petitions, calls to the Health Minister, to talkback, to friends and to family have all played an important part in saving people’s lives.
Fairer pay will also make our ambulance service safer, by helping to attract new recruits and to retain the incredibly skilled and experienced ambos we already have.
In a few weeks, ambos will be voting on this new agreement.
Although you may not be able to see it, you have not only made a real difference to hard-working ambos quality of life, you have helped save lives.
On behalf of all our dedicated ambos, and the public of Victoria, I thank you very much for your support.
Steve McGhie
Ambulance Employees Australia

Just another cog in the machine

Solidarity Forever (Pete Seeger)

Telstra: shafting workers? What a surprise!

As long as I can remember, Telstra has treated workers badly. While there always seems to be money for obscene executive packages, there is never enough for sufficient staff. Over the years we have had the absurd explanation for getting rid of people that they're 'downsizing' in order to improve services. I mention that just to demonstrate how much contempt one CEO after another has had for the public's intelligence.

Today I'm on about their despicable push to get their remaining employees onto AWAs ahead of the deadline . It's worth taking a look at their 'training kit' to see just what they've been up to. Drop Telstra a line to let them know what you think of them. Here's the HeraldSun article.

I'm angry at Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard for providing Telstra (and others) with a window of opportunity to do this. They are taking too damn long fixing the IR situation and "Forward with Fairness" is (though better than what it amends) hardly adequate. In their desire to take control of Industrial Relations into federal hands, they're dragging their feet in protecting those who voted them in.