Ambulance drivers who filmed poignant videos describe life at 17,000 a month

In a video from Klintsy, a dozen strong men address the governor of the Bryansk region: “We want to be heard and seen. We get 17 thousand rubles. People are leaving. Of the eight brigades, three to five remained. For any requests to do something with the salary, we are sent over the fence: look for another job.”

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, reacted to the statement: “Let me tell you what is happening on the border, how the soldiers live.”

We spoke with one of the participants in the video.

“I have been working for an ambulance for 18 years,” the interlocutor began. We used to send complaints too, but no one responded. Then there were five young colleagues who could say something in person to the authorities. The rest were older people, they were silent. And they shut our mouths: that you are arranging riots, if you don’t like it, quit.

Now young lads have come who need to feed their families, that’s why there is such unity. Everyone agreed to rebel. There were 26 drivers.

After the release of the video, representatives of the Department of the Ministry of Health and local television came to our hospital. In words, they promised us to add money, in any case, they told us about it on camera. After a while, we will be announced what the salary will be in the end. Somehow everything is blurry, incomprehensible.

Regarding the governor’s answer that some live even worse, we were told that Bogomaz was going to inspect the border territories at that moment. And then they called him, informed about our situation. He allegedly reacted in a fever.

– Do you really get 17 thousand?

– 17-18 thousand we get on hand. Since 2019, I started collecting receipts. Nothing has changed in three years. Only in the covid year, 29 thousand came out dirty, but there were allowances.

How do you live on this money?

– A little better than a homeless man who picks in the tank. You have to take a job. I have two children. It’s funny, but even the wife gets 20 thousand, that is, more than me.

People are leaving because of low wages. Our substation serves more than 80 thousand people. In fact, there are four or five cars left for the entire area. If one leaves for Bryansk, even less so. Recently, two machines worked for half a day, one broke down. There are many challenges. There are delays.

Our region is a border zone. God forbid, something happens, there will be no ambulances left. And in such a situation, the governor tells us that people are sitting in the trenches, but you don’t have enough 17 thousand? Well, what does the trenches have to do with us mere mortals? Let’s go to the trenches together. I don’t refuse. It will be necessary, and I will go into this trench.

– What does the head doctor say?

“They don’t really want to communicate with us. When we raised the issue, the management made it clear that there is a common cauldron from which everyone eats, and how can we add something to you? You don’t have any money, that’s all.

After the release of the video, the head physician did not call us. Only our manager said that we went too far with the video. Well, how did you overdo it? We’ve been asking for a raise for years. We don’t know where else to knock. Except for Putin. But we probably won’t get there.

“If you sit on the porch, we will get more”

A little earlier, the drivers of the Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency Medicine in Astrakhan posted a video with the same appeal: “We get 18-20 in our hands. For about 9 years, the salary has not been raised a single penny, it is below the average for the region. If you sit on the porch, you get a little more.

Previously, there was a surcharge for experience, also for the first and second class of drivers. All this was cut. We used to be ambulance drivers. And they became drivers of mobile ambulance teams – it’s like taxi drivers. Now spring will come, people will scatter, the ambulance will get up.”

One of the Astrakhan drivers told how the situation developed after the hype.

“Two months ago, at a general meeting, we raised the issue of salaries with management,” the man says. – We were told: “Write to the deputies.” We sent complaints to various authorities, including the governor. Unless they reached the president. After the holidays, the deputies met with us. But our problem has not been solved. Then we recorded a video.

After the release of the video, the Astrakhan Ministry of Health held a meeting. But we were not invited there. A week has passed, no information. We were told that they were supposed to hold another meeting about us. We are afraid that they will make noise and that will be the end of it. We are knocking on the wall.

But after the release of the video, the eyes of the drivers lit up, we will go to the end. Although some men think that nothing will come of it. Those who had previously retired went to work in the North. A relative invites me to work in Moscow as a shift on a garbage truck – for 15 days they pay 60 thousand rubles there.

In 2014 I retired. In 2017, he got a job as an ambulance. At first, I was given a salary of 8800 rubles. Now – 11400. With all the extra charges, it comes out to about 17-18 thousand.

The fact is, I repeat, that now ambulance drivers do not belong to doctors. We are listed as drivers of mobile teams. In fact, we work as hired drivers, so we are not entitled to allowances.

I have four children, three minors. The wife works as a nurse, receives 20 thousand. Our income is below the living wage. At least I have a pension, but I can’t imagine how young people live on 17 thousand. Some of them work part-time on minibuses or on their cars they sabbat. The family has to be fed.

We also have repair shops. Good locksmiths worked there, who could put the car on wheels in one day. They also have salaries of 17-16 thousand. Many quit. There are only two left out of eight.

At this rate, there will soon be no one left. We are human beings, we should be treated like human beings.