B.C. and Alberta governments accused of union busting
Paramedics in B.C. and Alberta will have a new set of bargaining partners in their next negotiations. On the west coast, EMS personnel are being moved into one of five health-sector bargaining units after the province decided against creating a stand-alone unit for paramedics.
Next door, in Alberta, the Labour Relations Board has rejected an appeal by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) to allow paramedics to be represented by the union of their choice. Instead, 1,000 paramedics will be moved into a bargaining union made up of technicians and lab workers represented by the Health Science Assn. of Alberta (HSAA).
That’s “problematic” to paramedics, according to Lou Arab, provincial CUPE spokesperson, because they’ll lose their bargaining clout in a unit of 18,000 members.
“They’re a small percentage of a much bigger unit,” he says. “It also puts them into a unit with people who work very different kinds of jobs. Paramedics work much different schedules; they work in much more dangerous occupations, much more heart-racing, adrenaline rushing work. They’re emergency services.”
The Alberta appeal stemmed from a decision last year by the provincial government to move the majority of EMS personnel into the Paramedical Professional and Technical unit. CUPE argued against the decision on the grounds of successor bargaining rights and constitutional freedom of association.
“Paramedics don’t really fit in perfectly with anybody,” says Arab, adding that although they would prefer a separate bargaining unit, paramedics’ second choice would be the nurses’ union “because they’re more emergency health care.”
HSAA president Elisabeth Ballermann says ultimately the merger provides a “unified voice, both in the field and at the bargaining table.”
Paramedics in B.C. are also concerned their issues won’t be adequately addressed in future negotiations, according to B.J. Chute, director of public education for CUPE, Local 873, which represents about 3,500 paramedics.
“Our collective bargaining has always been about improving service to the public, so things such as response times, the number of ambulances and shift patterns — the kinds of things that currently aren’t recognized within the other health sectors,” he says.
However, the B.C. government says by bringing paramedics closer to the health system, they will be “empowered to make healthcare decisions to improve patient care.” The province says the move is also critical to the eventual introduction of “treat and release,” where paramedics could provide on-scene treatment and follow-up without sending the patient to hospital.
Chute says the union questions how a separate bargaining unit for paramedics would impinge on those goals.
“That doesn’t make sense given the language of our collective agreement, which already allows for integration and training opportunities within the health sector,” he says. “It’s really union-busting at its purest form.”
In Alberta, CUPE believes lumping paramedics in with other workers will also affect their ability to retire early, as fire and police do, and hurt their pensions.
“They just won that right. It’s part of the recognition that their job is quite hard on the body,” says Arab. “They feel that while they negotiated the right to have it, they’re just getting it started now and it’s very much in jeopardy if they’re part of a larger bargaining unit.”
Alberta’s paramedics are reviewing the LRB’s decision before planning their next step.
Meanwhile, in B.C., paramedics plan to appeal to that province’s Labour Relations Board to decide where paramedics should go and whether they should be granted a stand-alone bargaining unit. CUPE continues to represent paramedics — and will under the changes — but it will be up to the Board to decide which bargaining association they belong to.
“Paramedics are confused,” says Chute. “They want to have a say in our future. Many of these moves would potentially take that away from them.”
