Paramedics in NSW will continue their five-day industrial campaign as planned after their union's dispute with the Perrottet government over staffing and wages headed to the state's industrial umpire.
Paramedics on Saturday began a five-day industrial campaign after the government launched a legal challenge at the Industrial Relations Commission.
The industrial action, launched by the Australian Paramedics Association NSW, means paramedics are not taking patients' billing details, reporting key performance indicators or leaving home stations.
An APA NSW spokesperson late on Monday declined to comment on the IRC matter but said "industrial action will finish on Wednesday evening as planned".
Nine out of 10 paramedics believe patients are dying due to under-resourcing, according to a survey from APA NSW.
"Paramedics are taking industrial action today for patients' safety and I think really the question is, are patients being put at risk every day by the NSW government's failure to take action," the union's Catherine Treloar told the Nine Network.
"The premier has indicated that he doesn't seem to care about paramedic wellbeing by his continued inaction on these issues, so what we're going to do today is hit him where it clearly hurts, which is the budget bottom line.
"The NSW government has unfortunately for years not listened to what paramedics say we need."
The recent addition of 300 paramedics to the NSW workforce did not address staff shortage issues, and the sector needed at least 1500 new staff, she said.
"And, frankly, paramedics need a pay rise," Ms Treloar said.
"Three years of fires, floods and pandemic and what they got for that is two pay cuts.
"We're seeing mass burnout amongst paramedics and it simply is not good enough that the premier has gone for a band-aid fix in this situation."
The APA wants the government to commit to further funding for specialists and community care, to increase paramedic staff numbers by at least 1500, and to lift paramedics' wages.
Mr Perrottet said on Friday that further funding would be committed to paramedics in the June budget.
"(That funding is) incredibly important because they do an amazing job on our front line every single day," he said.
He urged people to call an ambulance only in an emergency, saying people were increasingly calling triple zero in non-urgent situations.
The IRC will hear the matter on Monday.
