Another two days of talks have brought little progress as the provincial ambulance paramedics strike nears the three-month mark.
Labour Relations Board mediator Mark Atkinson adjourned talks between the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. and the B.C. Ambulance Service (BCAS) on Friday afternoon June 19. No date has been set for any further meetings between the two sides in the protracted dispute.
The bargaining committee for the 3,500 members of CUPE 873 met with the BCAS on Thursday and Friday of last week to try to get a response to a comprehensive union proposal (including monetary items) presented to the employer last week. Atkinson sat in on the talks at the request of the union. Both sides also met on June 11 and 12.
"All the employer has done so far is to keep presenting the same proposal for a one-year agreement," said ambulance paramedics' spokesperson BJ Chute. "This time all they did was drop the original signing bonus - they didn't even change the date on the package they presented from the one they gave us in March."
Chute added that the government's bargaining team doesn't appear to have a mandate to make any significant decisions.
"We have been pushing for an independent arbitrator to be appointed so we can settle this dispute," he said.
The paramedics have been on strike since April 1 for faster ambulance response times, better staffing levels, wage parity with other emergency responders and a multi-year contract. The paramedics continue to provide ambulance services under essential services orders.
On Tuesday, June 23, Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. president John Strohmaier called on Health Min-ister Kevin Falcon to intervene in the stalled dispute.
Strohmaier has written to Falcon calling for a meeting as soon as possible, "to convey our union's strong support to terminate this strike immediately in return for a process for resolution."
"We agree with the union's proposal for a three per cent wage increase in the first year, and that's why BCAS tabled a one-year offer of a three per cent general wage increase," said Lee Doney, acting CEO of the Emergency and Health Services Commission. "This three per cent wage increase builds on the two per cent pay rise all paramedics and dispatchers received in 2008/09. This means that all paramedics and dispatchers would receive an across-the-board five per cent wage increase in two years."
Doney said they believe that receiving five per cent over two years in this economy is very fair, especially considering the wage freezes and layoffs in other sectors and the settlements available to other public sector unions.
"With all ministries and health authorities facing significant budget pressures, we need to balance our desire to be fair and reasonable with the current economic challenges," Doney said. "We believe our offer provides a framework for settlement that respects our hard working paramedics and the valuable service they provide. We have also made it clear that we are prepared to look at some of the other issues of importance to the union in the short term, such as part-time benefits, on the condition that those initiatives can be achieved within the existing compensation framework."
He said if the union wants to discuss a longer term deal, they have to realize that the government mandate is for zero increases in 2010 and 2011.
"The focus of negotiations for years two and three would have to include these zero increases with negotiations then based around the areas of common interest and other compensation/benefits items the union has brought forward," Doney added. "However, we believe we can be most productive by focusing on the areas of agreement, and that starts with the three per cent wage increase for 2009/10, as identified in both ours and the union's latest proposals. We hope this common ground can form the foundation for a negotiated agreement."
