The union representing most private paramedics and emergency medical responders (EMRs) in the eastern and central regions of Newfoundland says the Department of Health is ready to break with safety measures in order to attract replacement workers if job action is taken.
The province is also offering higher pay and expenses.
“The NL Paramedicine Regulation went one step further and introduced legacy registration,” Hubert Dawe, business agent of the Teamsters Local 855, said in an email Tuesday. “This allowed medics who have not been on the road for up to five years to be reregistered without meeting any of the requirements that currently registered medics have to.”
Dawe said paramedics normally have to demonstrate they completed continuing medical education credits to show they are current in their knowledge. They also complete a yearly protocol exam to ensure the medics who are giving medications or applying medical procedures are competent in their skills.
“These checks and balance ensure patient safety, but apparently none of this matters during a labour dispute,” he said. “I am not sure what kind of precedent this is setting if they refuse registration to a medic in the future.”
A former paramedic sent a message to The Telegram Tuesday expressing anger at the offer.
“The fact that myself and other former medics were contacted to work under special circumstances if a strike happens is disgusting,” he said.
“This is flat-out wrong, shouldn’t be allowed and needs to be brought to the public eye and stopped.”
Dawe said the offer from the government is considerably higher than what the drivers employed by the private operators currently get.
The offer, sent to all registered current and former responders in the province on May 25, was $275 per day and $220 per day for paramedics and EMRs, respectively.
“The (regional health authorities) will arrange for accommodations and compensate (at the provincial government rate) for travel, meals and miscellaneous expenses,” Wayne Young, manager of the Road Ambulance Program, wrote in the memo.
The money would be paid by the employer, who would then be reimbursed.
Dawe said paramedics with the Teamsters currently earn $177.20 per day, and an EMR makes $152.48.
When the union threatened job action in mid-May, Dawe said the workers would not withhold emergency services.
“Our proposal for job action would see no interruption to emergency ambulances or transports necessary for medical intervention, diagnostic imaging, etc,” he said. “However, when we look at transfers between medical facilities or other destinations, there will be a decrease in ambulances available.
“It is important to note that we are not an ‘essential service’ under law in this province,” he added.
The Department of Health did not provide a response to queries about the offer before deadline.
Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram
“The fact that myself and other former medics were contacted to work under special circumstances if a strike happens is disgusting,” he said.
“This is flat-out wrong, shouldn’t be allowed and needs to be brought to the public eye and stopped.”
Dawe said the offer from the government is considerably higher than what the drivers employed by the private operators currently get.
The offer, sent to all registered current and former responders in the province on May 25, was $275 per day and $220 per day for paramedics and EMRs, respectively.
“The (regional health authorities) will arrange for accommodations and compensate (at the provincial government rate) for travel, meals and miscellaneous expenses,” Wayne Young, manager of the Road Ambulance Program, wrote in the memo.
The money would be paid by the employer, who would then be reimbursed.
Dawe said paramedics with the Teamsters currently earn $177.20 per day, and an EMR makes $152.48.
When the union threatened job action in mid-May, Dawe said the workers would not withhold emergency services.
“Our proposal for job action would see no interruption to emergency ambulances or transports necessary for medical intervention, diagnostic imaging, etc,” he said. “However, when we look at transfers between medical facilities or other destinations, there will be a decrease in ambulances available.
“It is important to note that we are not an ‘essential service’ under law in this province,” he added.
The Department of Health did not provide a response to queries about the offer before deadline.
Peter Jackson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram
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