The forgotten strike

By CAROLYN GRANT

Kimberley Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Ambulance Paramedics across the province continue strike action, but the struggle to remind people that they are out there fighting for a new labour deal is an uphill one at times.

Grant Farquhar, union vice-president for Region 4, (which includes Kimberley and Cranbrook) says that now that the election is over, the union will launch more of a public campaign.

This includes signs which some people are allowing in their yards.  The signs simply include the website www.saveourparamedics.com.

“We want the public to know how to access the information,” Farquhar said.

Paramedics continue to provide all emergency services, as mandated by Essential Services legislation through the Labour Board.

Farquhar says that it’s a constant struggle at the Labour Board trying to define essential service and it can be frustrating.

“Throughout the province there is a lot of feeling that this strike may not be obtaining anything.  From a provincial executive perspective, we do see positives but essential services is a struggle.”

He says that the union is at the Labour Board almost every day, but so far are finding most ruling going against them.

For example, he says, during the last job action the union applied for and was given permission to withhold billing information.

“That means we wouldn’t put down the address and phone number.  The employer could still access it at the hospital, but it was at their cost, so it had an effect,” Farquhar said.  “This was allowed during the last job action, but not this time.  The Labour Board turned us down.”

There is also some dispute over what is considered essential service.

“In the last labour dispute, less critical transfers were considered non-essential.  This time, all ambulance work has been deemed essential, even transfers home from the hospital.  Rulings like these give us an inability to have any sort of effect.”

One of the goals of the union is to get the ear of politicians, and the party doesn’t matter, Farquhar says.

He will be meeting with East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett next week and hopes to get some tangible support from him.

He has already met with Columbia River – Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald.

Macdonald has come out in support of paramedics, particularly those serving rural areas.

The contract negotiations currently underway between the provincial government and the paramedics’ union will deeply affect rural communities and the fact that this dispute has led to strike action shows a lack of leadership on the part of the BC Liberal government,” says Macdonald.

“The last paramedics’ contract made significant changes to pay structures and educational opportunities which mad the job of a rural paramedic much less appealing.  In order to make a living, many rural paramedics are choosing to move to larger centres, leaving rural communities scrambling to fill the ranks.

“In rural communities, we rely heavily on our paramedics.  Rural paramedics are often called to respond to accidents that occur far from emergency facilities putting a heavy burden on the ambulance service.  But instead of ensuring that rural paramedics are supported in being highly trained, this government has forced paramedics to accept contract provisions that lessen standards and lowers quality of service.

“The government has a responsibility to get ambulance service right.  We should not be relying on the paramedics’ union to fight for minimum standards; those standards should be set by government,” said Macdonald.

There must be improvements to the BC Ambulance structure that fully realizes the challenges of providing service in rural areas.  A pay structure must be in place that makes the job of a rural paramedic attractive.  A system must be developed that supports rural paramedics in taking higher levels of training, Macdonald said.

“Forcing paramedics into a strike position over these issues is grotesquely unfair to all involved.  The government has the responsibility to put an ambulance system in place that guarantees that appropriately trained and experienced paramedics arrive at the scene to care for our sick and our injured.  Anything less is simply unacceptable.”

“We need the support of MLA’s,” Farquhar said.  “If we can get the Legislature back into session – even for a short session – and have MLA’s stand up and say that this has got to be solved.  We need politicians to be aware that we are out there and we are not going away.”