Private ambulance paramedics expected to start job action
The Charter
Private ambulance paramedics in the province are expected to start job action at 4 p.m. today after contract negotiations broke down with the provincial government.
Robert Patten, president of the Private Ambulance Operators Executive Board (PAOEB), said the operators would still be providing emergency service across the province. Hospital-to-hospital transfers and other non-emergency services will now be suspended.
The paramedics are employed by private ambulance operators — all ambulances not owned or operated directly by hospitals.
The operators have been negotiating with the provincial government for a new contract for some time. One of the issues involves government-mandated paramedic wages, which Patten said they have been trying to increase.
The government’s contract offer contained a substantially higher wage for paramedics, but Patten said it squeezed dispatchers, office workers and other ambulance-operator employees.
Patten said the paramedics had given the employers until today to come up with a deal.
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