The Pink Panther

but seriously...

If the additional hours are paid as O/T, then it boosts your income so why worry? Once the influx (and by God isn't that gonna hurt the NHS when it really kicks in?) is done, the O/T will drop off (probably) and your earning potential will drop off accordingly. Therefore, by the time I get to 45, I can take it a little easier with a little pot in the bank.

That's the plan.... It may not work out that way...

Tetley999

Don't think that I have EVER had a really great manager, they don't exist do they?

Anyway, got my thongs, flowery shorts and swarfega at the ready.......just waiting for that job offer.

One of our tech's has received a VERY inflammatory e mail back from the CEO, along the lines of "Basket cases" (re why should he reply to his e mails when he can't come to work on a regular basis!!!!)

Still, lets be honest we all owe him a BIG thank you, ...........................after all, if he and his muppets were any good as managers there would not be so many of us leaving.


I think he has done us all a very big favour, long may he be in power!!


At least until all he is in charge of, is a gaggle of yes muppets and ECA's, oh, and the community response bods. Lets just hope it's one of them that get responded to him when he has his MI,

But it will be alright..............we made the time. Yes, I know all the responder had was a box of swan vestas and a pac of extra strong mints!! BUT WE MADE THE TIME!!


QAS may well have its problems, but they will have a bunch of very happy to be there UK Para's, with nice shorts and a new tub of swarfega.

Do you have sawdust overthere???

Tetley










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tyne

Can someone who works for QAS confirm is overtime optional, or are you expected to work over your set hours each week. Currently I work 3 or 4 12 hour shifts a week in the UK. I would be hard having to work overtime every week, as with a young family, time together is of great value.

foreverhoping1

hi everyone,

i am a tech who was lucky in march and am currently awaiting offer as a p1.

has anyone heard progress with regard to qas negotiations with gov over visas (ie 457 4 yr visa or pr sponsorship)? at the interview i was told qas had already negotiated the business visa but was trying to upgrade this to permanent residency employer sponsorship under the labour agreement? any news out there?

to all techs out there... you can apply! qas want p3 but will take on p1 (tech) and train to p3, or so i was told at interview.

Wolf

Hi,

Working extra overtime shifts/sporting events is voluntary.

Shifts from station to station can differ, however, most are now 10hr days and nights.

Some weeks you'll work 30 or so hrs per week, sometimes, 40, sometimes 50. Your pay is averaged out so you don't lose money, except if you work less shifts which don't attract 'penalty rates' - lates, nights, weekends etc.
Over a period between your last annual leave and your next the hours you work are calculated, if you are over the amount of hours you should have worked then you'll get those excess hours paid to you at double time.
If you're under then it gets carried over to the next block between leave.

Australia, Queensland, QAS do have some weird ways of doing things.
Personally, I'd wish they cancel the 'penalty rates' and have a good basic salary, this way more goes towards your Superannuation.

Most staff you talk to aren't impressed with the Union, one which presents many work forces, not specifically paramedics. It seems they are in bed with managemant and the State government and as such doesn't wish to 'rock the boat'.
At the last round of negotiations staff feel they lost a lot more than they gained - one being sick leave now 80hrs which like leave has to be accrued.
Queensland health is sick, QAS is sick, however, not as sick as the NHS.

Hopefully with the influx of you guys current QAS staff will hear how things could be improved with an ambulance/emergency services union, right to a home life, work/home life balance etc.

Hope this helps.

skye

Thanks Wolf - very informative! We are aware of the problems QAS have at the moment and I am sure most posters on this thread will agree the UK services are probably not that much better!

What is the feeling amongst the staff of QAS about all the british staff coming over.........

tyne

Thanks for the reply wolf, really appreciate getting some info from someone who actually works for qas. Can i ask you how long you have been working for qas, and where abouts in queensland are you stationed?. Do you have any regrets about moving?

skye

Hi tyne.... Have you heard anything yet about your application?

tyne

I havent sent it away yet skye. It has taken forever to get training unit and bosses to do their bits on the application form. Just getting it all together now, so hopefully sending it away in the next few days.

Just to let everyone know who is about to apply, i emailed QAS about the $395 fee that is asked for with your application. They said it is no longer neccesary to pay it to them. Good news!

sals

Good luck for when you finally get your application sent x

Has anyone heard anything about offers of employment or how much longer this may take?

I'm coming up to completion on my house sale and was planning on moving in with my folks for a few weeks. Was hoping this would only be a month or so but now it's looking like it may be much longer than this!

I could just do with some sort of time scale! Any news at all would be really helpful.
sals

Zuluman7

Hi All

I am pretty new to this forum. Was just wondering if there have been any South Africans with UK paramedic qualifications transfering over to QAS ?
( Just to explaine reasons for the question, i moved to the UK 6 years ago from a service in South Africa i have not claimed citizenship yet, so still have a South African Passport.)
Does any one here know how long it takes to get an interview once one's application has been sent off ?

Does any body know somebody who has challenged the ICP and got through ?

Any information would be great !!!

mille777

Hi everyone,

I am quite new to this forum. I am a German Paramedic and I already live in Queensland for nearly a year now. Because my wife got a perfect position as a midwife and because my papers got lost on the way down to here, I have been a househubbie for quite a long time now ! But finally I got my papers together and so I will apply for a position quite soonish. We've got the permanent residency, so it is just a question of paper and time.

I am just wondering if any paramedics from Europe are already working for the QAS, would be nice to catch up with you.

Has anyone a ICP qualification got through?

Regarding QAS, they are in the newspaper almost every week now, with big problems, but most of them about money and management, not the paramedics!

As I am also just in the process of applying, I can't give you more information about the Service, but if anyone has some question about living in QLD I am more then happy to help!

It would be nice to hear more from you guys

mille777

mille777

Here are some interesting links:

www.acap.org.au

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...rom=public_rss

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...rom=public_rss

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...rom=public_rss

CU
mille777

mille777

UK provides paramedics
Jodie Munro O'Brien
Courier Mail
April 13, 2007 12:00am

More than 100 British paramedics are being recruited to Queensland to ease the burden on the state's fatigued ambulance officers.
The first five of 53 experienced British paramedics hired this year already are on the job in a bid to avert what Ambulance Employees Australia Queensland secretary Stephen Crow says is a crisis.
The next wave will start moving to Australia next February.
Emergency Services Minister Pat Purcell said that although Queensland paramedic training classes were full, more experienced paramedics were needed immediately.
''The experienced British paramedics are instant, if you like”, Mr Purcell said.
''Because of the growing and ageing population we're growing about 10 per cent a year, so we need to continue to employ paramedics at that rate.”
“We've got that many new paramedics on the road but they need to work with an experienced paramedic for three years.”
Mr Purcell said hiring the trained paramedics would give the state's ambulance officers some relief.
''We want to give the more experienced ones a bit of a rest so they’re not always the person in charge of training a new paramedic,” he said.
Mr Crow said there was a desperate need for more paramedics.
''I don't mind if all the ambulance officers start talking cockney'' he said. ''But we still need at least 250 paramedics a year for the next five years to bring the number up.”
He said demand for paramedics in Queensland had increased by 20.5 per cent since March 2006.
''My own view is it's in crisis,'' he said. ''We need something more immediate, though I'm not quite sure what we do as you can't just get a paramedic off the shelf. Even going overseas to recruit takes time."
Senior Queensland Ambulance Service operations officers returned to London this week where they are conducting more interviews for a second round of recruitment.
Mr Purcell said the British personnel would be on top of the extra 350 paramedics already scheduled to be added over four years, with another 140 paramedics also expected to be employed under an enterprise-bargaining agreement.
Paramedics throughout the state have complained about long working hours, shifts without breaks and regular 50 to 60-hour working weeks.
Stations have also been closed because of staff storages, forcing paramedics to cover more areas.
Paramedic Nicki Smith, 37, moved to Australia from the UK in March and started at the Wynnum ambulance station last Friday. She has worked with ambulance services for 14 years, nine of those as a paramedic.
She jumped at the chance to move to a warm, sunny climate to continue working in a job she enjoys.

skye

Interesting reading, I dont think any of us are under the illusion things are better than the UK Ambulance Service, but if things are that bad why havnt they sent us a job offer yet - we are ready to go!!!!!