Paramedic RALLY for Essential Service at City Hall
RALLY - Tuesday January 24th 8:30 - 9:00 am
Press Conference in Rotunda 9:00 am
TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2012 /CNW/ -
Essential Service Designation for Paramedics is before the Executive Committee on Tuesday January 24th at 9:30 am
Paramedics are not designated as an essential service.
This is unacceptable.
The City of Toronto and CUPE 416 are days away from a labour disruption which will see the numbers of paramedics working in the City of Toronto reduced by 15%.
City council has acknowledged that lives will be at risk and that the system cannot handle this reduction, and yet they continue to deny essential service status to paramedics.
The definition of an essential service as per the government of Canada:
"Human life or public safety would suffer if a work stoppage interrupted the duties of these employees"
Support for Essential Service:
Rob Ford, Mayoral Candidate. October 2010:
"I want to assure you when I'm Mayor, we will make it an essential service."
"I believe they should be an essential service"
"if they're going to get a bit more money for doing it - I have never had a person come up and say, "Rob, I object to paying Paramedics, Firefighters, or Police more money"
"I have no problem paying our Officers, or our Firefighters, or our Paramedics good money to do a job"
City of Toronto stated:
"Toronto EMS is not reaching our target response times now, and for every vehicle that is not there, the response times go up"
"Anything less than 100% will only make an already bad situation worse"
John Saunders, counsel for Toronto EMS at OLRB hearing, Dec 2012.
CUPE 416
"the Union will concede that all of its paramedics are "essential" so long as it receives interest arbitration in return"
OLBR Vice Chair Report, Jan 2012
Toronto Paramedic Association
"We believe any Essential Service status given to EMS should be exactly the same as the status afforded Police and Fire services across the Province."
Geoff MacBride, TPA President
Tuesday January 24th Toronto Paramedics are launching our new public awareness campaign including radio PSAs and posters
Please visit:
ParamedicsforEssentialService.ca
Help us sound the alarm at city hall
Roberta Scott
Cell 416 456-6989
Share this article