Please Click Here to find recent news, events and information from CUPE Ontario.
Sisters and brothers,
To celebrate National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week, CUPE Ontario is proud to express our gratitude to all EMS workers. They are true heroes in our public healthcare system who save lives daily in communities across Canada. We are very proud to have thousands of EMS workers as our sisters and brothers in CUPE.
Every one of us might need to rely on the skill and abilities of EMS workers. It is impossible to measure the meaning of a parent’s life saved, a daughter or son aided for at an accident, or a loved one cared for compassionately in a time of crisis. It is impossible to place a value on the skilled services provided by highly trained paramedics, communications officers and supply technicians.
While we celebrate the important work of our EMS members, we must also raise the alarm. Funding cuts to health care have resulted in increased workloads for paramedics. This results in increasing wait times for ambulance services and ultimately damages the quality of care our members can provide.
In a profession that our members love, long hours, stressful working conditions and schedules that make it nearly impossible to eat properly are contributing to increasing rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. This condition is directly work-related, although not yet recognized by WSIB.
It is unacceptable that provincial budget cuts would leave communities in need of these critically important emergency services, just as it is unacceptable that these heroes of our communities are being overworked and left without proper protection by their employers. CUPE is proud to have EMS workers as members, and we will continue to advocate for the services our members provide and the respect our members deserve, through collective bargaining and through advocacy at all levels of government.
We are immensely proud of the work our members perform, saving lives throughout the province every day. We will continue to stand with them, through our CUPE Ontario ambulance committee, as the voice in support of Emergency Medical Services and the workers that provide them in Ontario.
Sincerely,
Fred Hahn, President
Candace Rennick, Secretary-Treasurer
