The Victorian treasurer says the government can't make a "special exception" for paramedics when it comes to a pay boost as their union considers industrial action.
Almost 87 per cent of Victorian Ambulance Union members rejected Ambulance Victoria's latest enterprise agreement offer, which includes a three per cent pay rise and a $1800 lump sum payment at the end of each year.
The union says paramedics will take industrial action if they can't come to an agreement in the next two weeks.
A key sticking point in the dispute is conditions, with union secretary Danny Hill claiming Ambulance Victoria is seeking to reduce sick leave, overtime entitlements and travel allowances.
Treasurer and Industrial Relations Minister Tim Pallas said the current pay offer was final and in line with the government's three per cent cap on public sector wage increases.
"That is the only outcome that will be offered because the government has a wages policy," Mr Pallas told reporters in Dandenong on Wednesday.
"If I make a special exception for ambulance workers then we have to do exactly the same for everybody else otherwise, quite frankly, it wouldn't be fair."
Mr Pallas said the union had "quite genuinely" raised other concerns about workforce pressures and stress which he was open to addressing.
The paramedics' union is seeking shorter night shifts that can be worked by part-time members, new health and safety provisions, and safer staffing levels in control rooms.
"Enterprise bargaining is where employers and unions are meant to negotiate in good faith, not lock themselves into an arbitrary wages policy," Mr Hill said in a statement to AAP.
He said the union made suggestions about reducing Ambulance Victoria's overtime bill of more than $95 million.
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Jane Miller has said the organisation would continue to negotiate in good faith and hoped to reach a mutually beneficial agreement soon.
"Our desired outcome is a fair, reasonable and financially sustainable agreement which delivers on our commitment to developing and supporting our people and providing high quality care to the Victorian community," Ms Miller said in a statement on Tuesday.
Opposition leader John Pesutto called for Premier Jacinta Allan and Mr Pallas to intervene in the dispute.
"We've got Victorian households and people right across our great state who depend on our ambulance service to be able to deliver and they're not getting that now," Mr Pesutto said.
"Because we have a Labor government that's run out of money and is not prepared to support our paramedics."
