WINDSOR, ON — The Windsor-Essex Region is now one step closer to the first paramedic strike in the service’s history as conciliation between Essex-Windsor EMS and CUPE 2974 concluded last week without a resolution. CUPE 2974 members had hoped the County of Essex would provide a path forward during their May 6 closed-session council meeting – but council refused to even hear from paramedics and the two sides left the table on Friday no closer to a deal.
At the heart of this fight is a long-simmering recruitment and retention crisis that’s plaguing paramedic services across the province and is particularly acute at Essex-Windsor EMS which is losing paramedics almost as quickly as it can hire them.
“We’re fighting to stabilize paramedic services for 400,000 residents,” said James Jovanovic, president of CUPE 2974. “Emergency medical services have been under strain for years. Our service can’t attract or keep enough paramedics. The ones who stay are burnt out and living with PTSD. We deserve a contract that accounts for that level of trauma and burden while respecting the life-saving services we provide.”
Talks between the two sides stalled earlier this month but CUPE 2974 members remained hopeful that their voice would be heard by councillors, leading to a new bargaining mandate and progress towards a deal with the help of a conciliation officer on May 8. Those hopes were dashed, though, when the administration refused to provide new bargaining authority or even hear from the Essex-Windsor EMS Chief at their meeting.
“In the moment of greatest consequence in bargaining, the administration did not even consider it necessary for the Chief of the service to attend the report to council,” said Jovanovic. “Elsewhere across Ontario, Chiefs have stood before their councils and advocated directly for the stabilization of their EMS systems and the retention of their paramedics. Here, at the exact moment this dispute is being pushed toward an EMS strike, our administration did not even believe the situation warranted the Chief’s presence.”
CUPE 2974 is in the process of finalizing their Essential Ambulance Services Agreement (EASA), which is a necessary step before any legal strike can occur. The EASA establishes the required service levels that must be maintained during a strike. CUPE 2974 and Essex-Windsor EMS will be before the Ontario Labour Relations Board on June 22 for the final EASA hearing and expect a decision to be made 4 to 6 weeks following.
CUPE 2974 remains prepared to continue bargaining but warns that without direction from the administration and meaningful movement from Essex-Windsor EMS, the region is entering uncharted territory. Bargaining dates in June have been cancelled but the two sides have plans to meet in July, a timeline Jovanovic hopes will give council the motivation they need to step in and solve this crisis.
“Our members have carried this system as it’s crumbled around us for years,” Jovanovic said. “One quarter of us have depression or PTSD. That is unacceptable and it puts the lives of residents at risk. It’s time our leaders made paramedic services a priority.”
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For more information, please contact:
Jesse Mintz, CUPE Communications Representative
416-704-9642 | [email protected]
