The paramedics' union has dismissed an industrial inquiry commission report into the state of the provincial ambulance service as "superficial" and launched a legal challenge questioning the choice of long-time bureaucrat Chris Trumpy as commissioner.
"I think [the report]'s exactly what the government wanted. It's a superficial glance over the ambulance service when what was needed was an in-depth investigation of how to fix the ambulance service," said B.J. Chute, director of public education for the paramedics' union, speaking on behalf of the union and Sunshine Coast paramedics.
The industrial inquiry was launched in late November, following the provincial government's decision to legislate an end to the paramedics' seven-month strike. Trumpy delivered his report to the Ministry of Labour Jan.15. The report looks at ambulance service delivery options, labour relations models, staffing, compensation, workload, deployment, recruitment, retention, training, and health and safety. The union, which had been calling for an industrial inquiry during the strike, refused to participate in Trumpy's inquiry.
Chute said that, unlike the in-depth inquiry the union had been calling for, Trumpy's inquiry was done in haste and all but ignores key issues for paramedics.
"You look at the staffing and workload issues, which have been a key issue for paramedics and the ambulance service for many years - that only warranted two small paragraphs," he said.
During the strike, the union argued that local paramedics' compensation - particularly for part-time paramedics, who are paid either a $2 per hour on-call wage, or a $10 per hour stand-by wage - is a key barrier to recruitment and retention.
The report, however, does not look at part-time wages and instead states that "based on total compensation, B.C. Paramedics are paid slightly less than Ontario, but generally more than other provinces."
Chute said that, given that the majority of B.C. paramedics work part-time, Trumpy's decision not to look at part-time wages skews the picture his report paints.
"I can't name another place in Canada or in North America that pays paramedics $2 an hour," he said. "You can't tell me that being paid $2 an hour or even a $10 an hour stipend is compensating paramedics on the high end of the scale. He didn't even look at those issues."
In a letter accompanying his report, Trumpy said, "In the absence of participation by CUPE Local 873 [the paramedics' union], there were some issues I was asked [to] consider in my terms of reference that I have been unable to address."
Chute said the union has mounted a legal challenge, which is before the Supreme Court, questioning Trumpy's appointment as commissioner. The union, he said, feels that Trumpy's neutrality is compromised by his 30-plus years working as a civil servant for the provincial government, and that he doesn't have a sufficient background in either labour relations or judicial matters.
Minster of Labour Murray Coell has received and endorsed the report.
"Mr. Trumpy has submitted a thoughtful and comprehensive report that will help inform the broader discussion about redesigning the B.C. Ambulance Service and the bargaining relationship between paramedics and their employer," he said in a statement.
