Ontario Labour Relations Board to Rule on Essential Service Agreement for Toronto Paramedics

Paramedics are taking a proactive role at the Essential Service Hearing at the OLRB on Mon December 19/11

TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2011 /CNW/ - CUPE Local 416 has offered the City of Toronto an "essential service agreement" which will keep 100% of the city's Paramedics and their support staff at work.

The union's only provision is to allow the Paramedics the ability to go to a fair arbitration system - the same as Police, Fire and TTC.

The City of Toronto flatly turned us down and is now taking us to the OLRB, trying to strip us of our right to strike with no fair and reasonable exchange of arbitration.

The Paramedics are outraged that the city is taking this draconian approach to the collective bargaining process.

"Paramedics demand to know why the City of Toronto wants to treat them differently than Police, Fire and TTC, who are all essential services with arbitration" states Roberta Scott the former P.R. Director of the Toronto Paramedic Association and one of the Paramedics who has been pushing this issue for years, both with the City and the Province.

When she was the P.R. Director of the Toronto Paramedics Association Roberta asked candidate Rob Ford about essential service live on the CP 24 Mayoral debate in Oct 2010.

His answer:

"I believe they should be an essential service. And I want to assure them that when I'm Mayor, we will make it an essential service"

Mayor Ford went on to say:

"And if they're going to make a bit more money for doing it - I have never had a person come up and say, "Rob, I object to paying Paramedics, Firefighter, or Police more money" This is where the money should be spent, and I have no problem paying our Officers, or our Firefighters or our Paramedics good money to do a job."
"I don't want people like Roberta, feeling, you know, this uncertainty. And I want to assure her that when I'm Mayor. We will make it an essential service. And we will guarantee to have the best service possible"

Toronto Paramedics are asking the mayor to live up to his promise and for the City of Toronto to give us the same recognition and respect that the other emergency services have as an essential service, including arbitration.

Toronto Paramedics are among the most highly skilled and trained Paramedics in North America.
We work daily under conditions of extreme stress and often in situations of high risk to our own health and safety.
We take tremendous pride in our role as dedicated health care professionals who practice life saving skills everyday to treat patients experiencing a wide variety of medical emergencies and life threatening situations. 

All we are asking the city for is fair and reasonable treatment in the ESA process:
To be given the recognition of a true essential service - like police, fire and TTC - with a fair arbitration system.

* OLRB Hearing: Monday December 19^th 9:30am *
Ontario Labour Relations Board - 505 University Ave 2^nd Floor

All Media are invited and encouraged to attend this open hearing

For further information:

Roberta Scott - Paramedic      Cell 416 456-6989