Who rules? Nobody rules anybody in a democracy! Some are elected to govern in our name and as our taxpayer-paid employees!

Speaking as a former medic, paramedic and Vic Ambo, can attest to the fact that this branch of emergency health care has always been undervalued! And that has its roots in the St. Johns Ambulance, which was staffed by unpaid amateurs, doing civic, and taken for granted, volunteer service! Been there done that!

As I recollect, we/VA, were quite grossly underpaid, undervalued and understaffed! And I believe, very little has changed during the last half-century! And if not advertised via graffiti? Then how Genius?

And not assisted y folk like the writer, who clearly belongs to the denigrating group, who routinely undervalue first responders, emergency/life-saving health care! Who are often asked to save lives with their hands tied behind their backs by control freak doctors limiting their tools and role!, e.g., if we could give an injection of clot-busting medication ASAP without supervision, permission. many more lives could be saved along with the mental faculties of the victims, some of who are still quite young!

We/they should carry multi-purpose, portable hyperbaric chambers for the same purpose!
Alan B.

We experienced some of the southern union problems in tropical Queensland in the mid 80s. A couple of Painters & Dockers found it would be better for their health to leave Melbourne, & got work at the big slipway in MacKay. It transpired that in a short time some mates joined them, & forced the old workforce out.

Knowing nothing of this, I sent our 98Ft barge there for it's usual annual slipping. My skipper told me some funny stuff was going on, but it was only when I got a bill for $340,000 rather than the usual $60,000 or $70,000 that I found how much. The job had taken 16 days rather than the usual 6. I demanded fully a itemised account & found 90% of the work was done at might at double & a half rates, for no good reason.

I refused to pay, & went to court. The poor owner had lost control of his business to the painters & dockers. He shut the place down for 3 months, & the troublesome lot drifted away.

We came to an arrangement to pay a reasonable price, as did others & the bloke only just managed to save his business

I was a member of the CFMEU as a labourer prior to university work. You had to be.

Incredible to see some of the power it had. Like one day when a cool change was fast approaching, and most knew it, but everyone stopped work and went home when the temperature reached a certain level which ended not long after as I walked towards the city from Port Melbourne.

Sure, i was not complaining, but I was also thinking this was completely unfair to employers.

Having said that, I also saw some contractors basically paying nothing for some labour who also got in the system virtually undetected.

Interestingly, i think the basic union rate for a labourer is now $45 and hour, full-time not casual, but a lot of companies now just hire labour.

AS an officer in Vic Ambulance, never understood why a few airheads would want to strike when working to rules, i.e., simply refusing to do the paperwork! Produced far better and faster results, given it the missing paperwork meant nobody could've billed in the absence of the validating evidential paperwork!

As for me, when the airhead finally got their way and went on strike, I had to resign rather than join in something I couldn't agree with!

The day after, went out and bought a taxi truck! Was never busier and had to employ help. Even then it was on average, a 14 hour day, seven days a week!

I'd do an early morning parcel run. Then all the 10 to 4 deliveries for a, second-hand furniture and white goods store. Which all oo often, included hand carrying refrigerators or pianos up 13-15 flights of stairs, in housing commission apartment blocks. [They were built without lifts, for cost minimisation purposes!]

Then and after 4 pm, did straight up taxi truck work (3-5 hours) and jobs from the two way. Saturday and Sunday, private furniture removals only

And where I often came across the mob who wanted to strike! All who seemed to have weekend jobs in the transport industry. And where they often made more money in two days than five on the ambulances.

And explains the regular understaffing of the service!?
Alan B.

Thanks David Southwell for your article.