Montreal and Laval paramedics will exert pressure tactics on Monday to enforce their meal times as a chronic lack of manpower creates difficult working conditions.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
“Urgences-santé categorically refuses the possible solutions considered to be the most effective by the Syndicat du préhospitalier (SP-CSN)”, deplores the union in a press release.
A last-ditch meeting was held on Friday “to discuss one of the major irritants for [paramédicaux]or the inability to take their meal break at the agreed time” due to the lack of staff.
“Unfortunately, the SP-CSN notes that Urgences-santé does not intend to seriously tackle this problem,” the statement continued.
Faced with this closure by the employer, the union calls on all [paramédicaux] to take their meal break at the scheduled time, in accordance with the collective agreement, as of Monday, July 11.
Excerpt from the SP-CSN press release
However, the union assures that this “will have no impact on the health and safety of the population”.
In addition to respecting breaks, the union demands that overtime worked voluntarily be paid at double rates and denounces the systematic use of compulsory overtime.
“Legitimate” Claims
Called to react, the spokesperson for Urgences-santé Stéphane Smith admits that “the employees are tired, they have claims that are completely legitimate”.
“We’re going to try to fix that,” he said. Discussions are still underway with the union, according to him, but also with the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), which depends in particular on the possibility of granting the double rate for overtime.
“The MSSS respects the right to strike of paramedic ambulance technicians,” it says on this side. “However, he recalls that maintaining essential services is mandatory. »
Urgences-santé regularly lacks personnel to fill all its shifts, and the situation is particularly acute at night and on weekends. During a weekend at the end of May, The Press reported that more than half of the scheduled ambulances were missing due to a lack of available employees.
And this weekend again, almost all shifts will be marked by absences. On the night of Sunday to Monday, there will be no less than 38 paramedics less than the 98 who should be on duty, according to another spokesperson for the organization, Benoit Garneau, a situation representative of recent weeks.