Ambulance Victoria will take the Ambulance Employees Union to the Federal Court today to try to stop paramedics from taking part in election campaigning while wearing their uniforms.
A number of paramedics have been campaigning against the Government as part of a pay dispute that has gone on for two years.
The Government revised its pay offer to the paramedics in October, removing two key sticking points, but the dispute remains unresolved.
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella said it was unacceptable for paramedics to wear their uniforms to promote any cause outside official duties.
Health Minister David Davis said while everyone had a right to express their political views, it was “quite wrong” for paramedics to use their uniforms for political purposes.
“What people don’t have the right to do is to misuse an important uniform, which signals the authority of an emergency services worker, and misuse that for Labor Party political purposes,” he said.
The union’s state secretary, Steve McGhie, said one paramedic had already been disciplined for campaigning in uniform and he believed at least 20 more will be called in for meetings.
“This is just another attempt to prevent paramedics getting their opinion out and expressing their concerns about the long-running dispute that they’ve had with the Government,” he said.
“Clearly this is an issue, I think, that’s come from the Government through the ambulance service to try and gag paramedics.”
Mr McGhie claimed Liberal Party candidates were photographing paramedics on the campaign trail.
“We believe that information is being provided through the Health Minister’s office onto Ambulance Victoria,” he said.
State Labor has accused the Coalition of attempting to “victimise” ambulance officers who speak out during the campaign.
Deputy Opposition Leader James Merlino said the Government wanted to punish paramedics.
“Paramedics have every right to speak out about the crisis in the ambulance system, every right,” he said.
“This is just victimising and bullying by the Napthine Government.”