Cuts to paramedics’ working conditions could force many on to welfare if they are badly hurt on the job, union leaders claim. Income protection for injured workers has been drastically cut by the NSW government under a watered-down Death and Disability scheme that kicks off at the weekend, the Australian Paramedics Association (APA) NSW says. Under the changes, paramedics who become partially disabled will receive payments worth 75 per cent of their base wage nine months following their injury, APA president Stephen Pearce says. But the payments will stop after two years, leaving workers at risk of losing their homes, he claims.
