NSW Health Minister Ryan Park knows his paramedics are being poached by Victoria, Queensland and the private sector but is standing firm amid demands to lift an "insultingly low" pay offer.
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Paramedics on Wednesday began week-long industrial action aimed at frustrating the government's billing and data collection.
The Australian Paramedics Association has described the four per cent pay rise offered to all NSW public sector workers as "insultingly low" for its membership.
As he announced free parking at regional hospitals from next Tuesday, Mr Park acknowledged paramedics' pay had not kept pace with extra skills they were now expected to perform.
But he stood by the "sensible and reasonable" pay offer.
"I'm working with the treasurer in a very fiscally constrained environment, an environment where the previous government left 1100 nurses only temporarily funded," he said on Wednesday.
Queensland has offered interstate health workers up to $20,000 in bonuses to move north and Victoria's base rate for first-year patient transport officers is about five per cent higher than in NSW.
Graduate paramedics can however start on a base salary in NSW that is $5 a week better to Victoria's offering.
The pressure from interstate was one reason the government had moved to nullify the 2.5 per cent public sector wages cap, Mr Park said.
"We've also got challenges (from) our private health facilities poaching our staff as well," he said.
"I've got workforce challenges right across the board.
"This is also a national and global issue."
He reiterated frontline workers were his priority.
But union secretary Alan O'Riordan said paramedics were sick and tired of being told how critical they were to the community, "only to be left behind when it comes to paying us a fair wage".
"After winning an election on the back of promises to properly pay essential workers, we can't believe the Minns government thinks we're only worth that much," he said of the four per cent pay offer.
The union will ramp up action on Monday and Tuesday when members refuse to respond to non-emergency patient transfer jobs that could be taken up by patient transport officers or private providers.
The mess had been created by Premier Chris Minns' promise of higher wages at the election, the Opposition said.
"Chris Minns made promises to the public and to paramedics that he could not keep and had no intention of keeping," opposition health spokesman Matt Kean said.
"What we're seeing is the chickens coming home to roost."
Paramedics aligned with the Health Services Union are not involved in the industrial action.
Parking at almost every regional NSW hospital will be free for patients, staff and visitors from next Tuesday.
Fees will still apply at hospitals in Newcastle, Wollongong and Central Coast's metropolitan areas.
Labor's election promise will cost about $4.5 million a year, the parliamentary budget office estimates.
Australian Associated Press
