British Columbia’s paramedics have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year contract, after months of tough bargaining and the help of a mediator.
The Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia, which represents 4,600 paramedics and emergency medical dispatchers, voted 96.1 per cent in favour of the three-year deal, the union said Tuesday.
In a release, the B.C. government said key priorities of the 2022 mandate include protecting the services that people in British Columbia depend on; improving health care and preparing for future needs and challenges; and supporting a strong economic recovery that includes everyone in B.C.
The three-year term also includes a flat wage increase of $0.25 per hour, plus a wage increase of 3.24 per cent.
In year two, it includes a 5.5 per cent increase plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 6.75 per cent.
Year three includes a two per cent potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of three per cent.
“We’re happy that many of our core concerns are being addressed and that our members trusted our executive board and negotiations committee to bring them a fair deal,” union president Troy Clifford said in a release.
Clifford praised the provincial government, BC Emergency Health Services and the Health Employers Association of B.C. for coming together to reach a deal, but said there was still more work to do.
“While we’re happy that many issues have been recognized, others are ongoing, and we will be advocating to address those challenges. We want to assist communities in improving staffing and response times across BC, we still have a long way to go in providing improved mental health and wellness support to our members, and we want to advocate for our profession moving forward in many different ways.”
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Leanne Heppell, executive vice-president and chief ambulance officer at BC Emergency Health Services also praised all sides for getting to a deal.
“I’d like to express my sincere thanks to those who worked tirelessly at the bargaining table for this agreement which will provide notable benefits for both employees and the public. We look forward to working with the union over the coming months as we implement these changes,” she said.
“We will have more to say in the months ahead as we focus on implementing this significant collective agreement.”
Contract negotiations began in October, but it wasn’t until veteran mediator Vince Ready came to the table in December that the two sides were able to hammer out an agreement, with a tentative deal inked on Jan. 6.
Paramedics had long complained about the pay model for on-call crews, most of whom work in rural and remote environments and face pay rates of $2 per hour when not responding to an incident.
The province attempted to address the issue with a “scheduled on-call” model that guaranteed eight hours of paid work and 16 hours on-call on three-day rotations, but the union criticized the model as ineffective.
In October, the two sides reached a temporary deal to boost rural staffing and pay for on-call workers, which was extended as bargaining dragged on.
The union has cited recruitment and retention along with mental health and support as other key issues in negotiations.
In this agreement, according to a release, other achievements included “increases to improve on-call coverage and response times in rural and remote communities, as well as provisions on Indigenous-specific anti-racism initiatives, including paid leave to support Indigenous employees in connecting with cultural and spiritual beliefs. In addition, the parties agreed to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including a provincial working group and the removal of gender-normative uniform rules.”
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