Foxes in the Hen-House
Professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY) has been hired to support the transition to the new Emergency Health Services Corporation that EMS will operate under come September 1st. This amounts to EY being paid millions of taxpayer dollars to do a job that our management should be capable of doing. If our EMS management cannot be trusted to oversee our own transition, then why should paramedics trust them with anything else?
As a reminder, EY has a history of suggesting privatization and cuts to public services as a justification for "finding efficiencies". They most recently did this in their 2019 review of AHS that cost Albertan taxpayers 2 million dollars. However, their abysmal track record shows a more thorough documented history of incompetence, questionable ethics and unprofessional behaviour. Here are a few of the most recent highlights of the work EY has done:
EY was fined 100 million dollars by the Security and Exchange Commission after several of their audit professionals were found to be cheating on chartered professional accountant exams and continuing education professional courses between 2017 and 2021. EY was also found to have interfered with the investigation that uncovered the cheating.
EY is currently being sued for 2.7 billion dollars by private hospital operator NMC Health after years of negligent EY audits failed to uncover billions in undisclosed debts and led to the collapse of NMC Health. A lawyer for NMC Health stated in a UK court that EY's audits were "among the most fundamentally flawed examples of big firm auditing".
In 2023, EY was banned for 2 years from auditing companies of public interest in Germany after failing as the auditor for Wirecard before their collapse in 2019
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the United States found flaws in 46% of the 54 EY audits that they examined in 2022, resulting in $3Mil ethics fine.
EY was fined a combined 9.3 million pounds along with PricewaterhouseCoopers for auditing failures that allowed the now collapsed London Capital and Finance to lose 237 millions pounds of investor money in 2019
A British court ruled that EY had to pay a settlement to a former employee who was a whistle blower that was fired after exposing EY's efforts to cover up money laundering for private company Kaloti
EY should not be allowed anywhere near our healthcare system and paramedics don't want them involved in our transition or the EMS system. Most recently, EY has hosted an information session on work that they are doing to modernize EMS dispatch. First of all, this is a task that even the most average of EMS management groups should be capable of. Second, the suggestions from EY so far have been the exact same suggestions that paramedics have been making for years. Ideas like getting rid of pre alerts, creating a robust secondary triage system and reducing lights and sirens responses have been repeatedly brought up by frontline paramedics to all levels of management. Now EY is being paid millions of dollars to come up with these same suggestions, which frankly are low hanging fruit. Frontline paramedics still have not been consulted on our ideas to improve EMS and now we have to deal with the multi million dollar middleman EY, who we do not trust to listen to us. To be blunt, the task of ignoring frontline paramedics is now being outsourced to 3rd party consulting companies with multi million dollar contracts.
The restructuring of Alberta healthcare has never been about improving patient care. It has always been about creating chaos and opportunities to funnel taxpayer money into the pockets of private companies and well connected individuals. More CEOs, more middle managers, more consultants and more contractors. The money being spent on restructuring and paying EY could have been spent on adding more ambulances to the road, building more hospitals and improving working conditions to retain and recruit healthcare workers. Instead, our patients continue to suffer because they can't access the care that they need and we continue to get crushed by an unsustainable workload. We still have not heard any reasonable explanations of how the healthcare restructuring will actually improve either of these issues.
When 90 Percent isn’t 90 Percent
It has been confirmed by our staffing department that they have been directed by our management to stop offering overtime shifts for ambulances in Edmonton Metro (official term for 911 Edmonton ambulance division) during the week. The justification for this decision is that staffing is consistently above 90% during the week so there is no need for OT shifts.
Edmonton Paramedics still feel that we are struggling during the week with 911 call volume despite the claim from management that we are above 90% staffing. So, we looked through our FOIP data to see how staffing percentage is calculated. This photo shows that staffing for Edmonton is calculated based on the whole zone and not just 911 Edmonton Metro ambulances*. Edmonton Zone includes the area that surrounds Edmonton and non 911 ambulance divisions. This means that suburban rural ambulances from surrounding communities such as Beaumont, Stony Plain and Redwater are included in the staffing percentage as well as ambulances from contracted providers such as Strathcona, St. Albert and Fort Saskatchewan. The staffing percentage also includes units dedicated to interfacility transport in the Edmonton Zone. With this context in mind, it's clear that Edmonton Zone can have staffing above 90% while Edmonton Metro has staffing below 90% for 911 ambulances. The photo below shows an example of Edmonton Metro ambulances and PRUs being at 83% and 78% staffing respectively while Edmonton Zone was at 89% staffing.
Our experiences working in Edmonton since they stopped offering OT shifts during the week continue to show that the overall workload continues to be unsustainable on our resources. 911 calls are routinely being put into pending status until an ambulance can be attached, paramedics are still having to stay late to respond to 911 calls and paramedics are struggling to find enough time to take care of personal needs like eating a meal or using the washroom. Moreover, when Edmonton Metro ambulances are not staffed, it forces ambulances from surrounding communities to respond to more calls in Edmonton.
For several years, OT has been the duct tape holding our EMS system together since we don't have a work environment that allows us to recruit and retain paramedics. Edmonton Paramedics are ready and willing to work OT to help manage the 911 workload in the city. However, it appears that creative statistics are being used to justify cutting back on OT, likely to save money at the expense of the pre-hospital care patients receive. Regardless of how the 90% staffing number is being calculated, the bottom line is that Edmonton needs more ambulances and more paramedics every day of the week. We disagree with the suggestion that our current staffing levels are ever adequate. Our shifts are not getting any easier and we are still routinely seeing patients not get the care that they need or deserve.
* For the sake of transparency, we want to acknowledge that this photo shows staffing numbers from an undisclosed day in 2024. AHS made it harder to obtain the zone staffing percentages after 2024 so we do not have 2025 data. But we still wanted to show an example of how the percentages can be misleading.
Psycho-Motor Driving Skills Training - Employer Update #1
In February of 2025 the Edmonton Zone Joint Workplace Health and Safety committee put forward a recommendation for the employer to develop Ambulance Driving training that would be significantly more in-depth than watching a presentation online (see below). After significant push back and escalation the employer made serious commitments to research and scope out vast improvements to driver training. Here is the first update on the employer’s work so far:
The Literature review detailed work has been completed; current work is underway in July here to conduct a synthesis report of the Literature review and then a recommendations report will be created for the Project Sponsors.
The Literature review was based on the following themes:
EMS Research Team assisted and guided the Project Manager (Shoan O’Connor / and Project Lead (Brent Tario) in conducting a formal Literature Review following standard protocol practices.
Ambulance driver competencies
Ambulance driver training (including Emergency Vehicle Operator Courses – EVOC) and any other best practice ambulance driver training programs
Driving Simulators
Ambulance Collisions
Engagement has been initiated and ongoing with:
EMS Operational Leads
International Academy for Professional Driving (IAPD) our current partner that provides the Vehicle Operator Proficiency Development Evaluation Tool currently used by EMS for new recruits and high-risk drivers to determine additional driver training programs that could be offered, curriculum content, both in vehicle/on track that could be developed or offered
CEVO 5: Ambulance – this program is an EVOC program established by a Vehicle Training Company called Coaching Systems.com and we have been provided full information on this potential program for consideration
Alberta College of Paramedics (ACP) to review/assess current Paramedic program curriculum and requirements offered by the Institutions (NAIT, SAIT, PMA, etc) that already have driver training programs as part of Paramedic programs.
Paramedic Institutions (NAIT, SAIT, PMA) – forthcoming in July – to better understand specific current curriculum content on their driving training programs and what practical in vehicle training/tasks the students perform and on what size/category of vehicle
Private Industry partners that may be able to offer EMS access to a large, flat, closed track skills course in both Calgary/Edmonton and potentially the 3 rural zones as well
AHS medical facilities (Calgary/Edmonton) that currently use Virage Driving Simulators for medical clearance purposes for patients in the process of trying to obtain or requalify for a provincial driver licence.
External agencies that currently, or in the past, used Driving Simulators for Emergency Vehicle Operators and Municipal Drivers operating typical commercial vehicles relevant to a Municipality.
EZ Post CCTS Recruitment – Zone Orientation and Onboarding program that includes driver training components. Work is underway with the EZ program leader to understand all current components and the potential for expansion of that program as part of the overall EMS future ambulance driver training program
Environmental Scan:
The next significant piece of work to be undertaken in July is a larger scale Environmental Scan of Ambulance Operators to assess their operations in alignment with the 5 themes of the Literature review to identify any potential Ambulance industry best practices, learnings, or recommendations that AHS EMS needs to consider
When asked if there is the intention to engage with JWHSC membership and frontline staff as the project progresses:
"Once we complete the Literature review, Environmental scan, Engagement with IAPD to identify EVOC in vehicle on road /on closed track “driver training content/curriculum potential”, Engagement with the ACP College and Paramedic Training Institutions on current programs, potential initial recommendations, we will be able to complete the Objective Statement and Project Deliverable Plan, get the Project Sponsors (Jason Engelland/Mike Plato) to sign off and along with SOT/SLT, then acquire approval to expand the Project Stakeholder group out to those two groups as well as the current CCTS Clinical Educators (24) currently certified by IAPD to conduct the IAPD VOPD program."
EZ EMS JWHSC Recommendation to the Employer - 2025-02-26
Issue
One of the most dangerous and time-consuming aspects of a paramedic’s work involves driving.
Inter-Facility Transfer, and Suburban/Rural crews frequently travel great distances as part of their daily job requirements. These crews also frequently travel busy primary and secondary highways or find themselves on isolated rural roads.
Metro EMS crews face high traffic volumes across a wide-range of road, street, and highway types and face ever-increasing distance to emergency calls as our cities and towns expand beyond the current resource availability.
With increased calls for services, all divisions of AHS EMS are seeing an increase in the amount of time spent driving. To control for this hazard, some form of driver training is required, and the Government of Alberta has recognized that need in legislation.
Alberta's Traffic Safety Act - Vehicle Equipment Regulation mandates that ambulance operators must complete a Professional Driver Improvement Course (PDIC) every 24 months. AHS EMS PDIC provides 8 hours of module-based lectures. This is billed as being approved by Alberta Transportation, meeting all legislative course requirements and also incorporating EMS-specific information into the program. Our shared goal has always been ensuring practitioners receive information that's directly applicable to the unique EMS work environment, however the Edmonton Zone EMS Joint Workplace Health and Safety Committee is concerned that this sit-down, computer-based learning style might not lend itself fully to the reality of our working environment.
While relying solely on an Online, Read-Only, narrated slideshow style education format might be sufficient in some situations, this is not an effective method of training staff to perform complex psycho-motor skills. Sitting in a chair and clicking through multiple computer screens and watching the occasional video does not prepare staff for the real world demands of driving an emergency vehicle in a variety of weather conditions and road types, nor does it ready staff to respond to and from a variety of locations in inclement lighting conditions, while navigating traffic and other obstacles. This didactic method, without any psycho-motor skills component, does not render staff who are suitably competent* to perform Emergency vehicle operations, which is in contradiction of Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, Chapter O-2.2, s. 1. Breach of this legislative obligation may also render managers and supervisors culpable under Canada’s criminal code for failing to perform their due diligence.
The EZ EMS JWHC is concerned that without fundamental hands-on skills training, there is an increased likelihood of accident and injury to not only front line staff and the patients they may be transporting but also to the public at large. Staff involved in collisions often suffer serious and long-term physical and psychological injury.
Beyond the liability of injury and property damage, these incidents further strain the EMS system by reducing access to emergency vehicles while damaged units are being repaired and replaced. This is compounded by systemic supply-chain issues that limit the turnaround time for newly purchased emergency vehicles to become operational.
All of this is exacerbated by the fact that AHS EMS is seeing an influx of new employees, many of whom are often young and inexperienced staff that may find themselves underprepared to operate an emergency vehicle under optimal conditions, let alone in an emergency situation where a heightened degree of skill and awareness is required. It is also important to note, that without proper skills maintenance, even veteran staff can see a degradation in their ability to perform safe emergency vehicle operations.
One final concern, gathered through discussions with road staff, is the overall decrease in moral that front line staff experience from A) not have rigorous training that they feel they can trust to perform an integral component of their job, and B) the inability to feel trust that unfamiliar co-workers will be able to safely convey them during the response and transport components of their work.
Committee Recommendation
To improve employee safety and reduce the risk of injury or death, the mandatory driver’s education delivery method needs to be altered to incorporate a hands-on / practical psycho-motor skills component which should include:
An extended period of time for new hires to drive ambulances in non-emergent, non operational capacity.
Edmonton Zone Orientation already has multiple decommissioned ambulances that new hires spend time practicing in
Allows new hires to gain vehicle spacial-awareness
An Emergency Vehicle Operations Course
This can be offered in house through Learning and Development or through a contracted/certified external organization, or with Fleet Field trainers
Should teach
Hazard recognition and avoidance / driving obstacle course
Emergency Vehicle Driving (lights and sirens operations)
This may be done via simulation or course track training
Mentoring component
Is able to test and verify that employees are competently trained
Allows for real time correction and improvement of driving habits for new and veteran staff
Be available to all AHS EMS personnel across the province
*Alberta Labour provides a description of characteristics that may be used to describe a worker as “competent”:
“(1) adequately qualified — the worker has some type of qualification, usually earned through a formal education program, training course, etc., or a combination of education and practical experience. With certain exceptions such as professional designations e.g. professional engineer, nurse, physician, etc. or other legal requirements involving qualifications, the employer is responsible for evaluating and deciding if a worker is adequately qualified. ...
(2) suitably trained — the worker must have training that is appropriate to the tasks, equipment, etc., that will be performed or used. ... ; and
(3) with sufficient experience to safely perform work without supervision or with only a minimal degree of supervision — determining whether a worker has sufficient experience to safely perform work is the employer's responsibility. A worker's qualifications, training and experience are no guarantee that work will be performed safely. ... .”
In all cases, Alberta Labour states that it is the employer who should be able to justify the basis on which a worker is considered to be “adequately qualified”, “suitably trained” or “sufficient experience”.
From: Alberta Labour, 2018. OHS Code Explanation Guide 2018 (covering changes effective January 31, 2020) - https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/legislation/competent.html
No Resource Available
What happens when someone calls 911 but there is no ambulance available to respond?
This has been an ongoing problem since 2021 that continues to negatively impact our community. When there is no ambulance available to respond to a 911 call it will be put into "pending status", which means it sits in limbo until an ambulance is available to be assigned to the call. Calls can stay in pending status for minutes to hours. Our dispatchers are given the unfair task of identifying calls that are low priority and can hopefully wait for an ambulance. This task is difficult and susceptible to errors, which can result in true emergencies being put into pending status if the 911 caller provides inaccurate information. Sometimes, when the city is really busy, high priority emergency calls are even put into pending status deliberately. Eventually paramedics will start responding to the backlog of calls to provide assistance to those who have been waiting. This is not how a properly funded EMS system functions.
Unfortunately, every paramedic has several stories of arriving at a call that has been pending for hours only to find a patient who is very sick and needs to be rushed to the hospital. Another heartbreaking occurrence that is all too common involves our elderly patients falling to the ground and being unable to get up without assistance so they call 911. When their call for assistance is put into pending status, they often have to wait several hours on the ground for an ambulance because their call is deemed low priority. By the time paramedics finally respond, we often find them with pressure sores and laying in their own feces and urine because they could not make it to the washroom. It's not uncommon for some of our elderly patients to lay on the floor for over 5 hours waiting for an ambulance when we are busy.
This graph uses data from several of our FOIP requests. It displays the cumulative hours that 911 calls have spent in pending status in Edmonton. As a reminder, pending status is the period of time when an ambulance has not been assigned to the 911 call. This graph is not showing response times, it's showing the cumulative amount of time waiting for an ambulance to be assigned to a 911 call. Our data only goes to April 2025 but check out these stats from 2025 so far:
January 2025 - 12,739 total 911 events and 623 hours spent in pending status
February 2025 - 12,052 total 911 events and 1,312 hours spent in pending status
March 2025 - 13,101 total 911 events and 949 hours spent in pending status
April 2025 - 12,525 total 911 events and 644 hours spent in pending status
Let's be clear, the number of hours 911 events spend in pending status should be 0. An EMS system needs to be robust enough to handle unpredictable and dynamic 911 call volume. This includes having proper funding for an appropriate number of ambulances and a work environment that attracts and retains paramedics. We currently have neither. The most recent provincial budget provided no new funding for additional ambulances and we continue to struggle to find and keep paramedics who want to work in Alberta to staff the ambulances that we do have.
The government will tell you that this is simply a problem caused by paramedics being stuck waiting in hallways. This is not true. This is a problem of not having enough resources to meet increasing 911 call demand. Our previous posts have shown the dramatic increase in 911 call volume while our resources remain stagnant. We need real investment in our EMS system to expand capacity. Edmonton paramedics have no faith that the current healthcare restructuring will help with anything because the amount of resources are staying the same. All the money being spent on restructuring should be getting spent on adding ambulances to the road and recruiting and retaining paramedics.
When you call 911, how long are you willing to wait for an ambulance to be assigned to your event?
Union Dues During a Strike
It has come to our attention that there is some confusion over how union dues work in the event of a strike.
We have an Essential Services Agreement (ESA) that dictates minimum staffing levels that must be maintained during a strike. Anyone who is scheduled to work under the ESA will be paid normally by the employer but will have an extra 30% union dues deducted. This extra 30% union dues will help compensate workers on the picket line and help spread the pain of a strike more evenly amongst our members. Paramedics who are scheduled to work by the union will pay this extra 30% union dues and take home the rest of their pay.
If someone shows up to work when they are not supposed to. That would be considered scabbing and the union would fine that worker 100% of their wages that day.
SHOWING UP AS A DESIGNATED ESSENTIAL SERVICE WORKER IS NOT CONSIDERED SCABBING AND WILL NOT RESULT IN LOSING 100% OF YOUR PAY.
In fact, because our union is in charge of scheduling during a strike, it will be impossible to scab. Even if someone wanted to scab, our union just wouldn't add them to the schedule. AHS completely forfeited their ability to hire scabs when they insisted that HSAA schedule during a strike. In other words, don't even worry about scabbing. It's impossible.
If that makes sense to you then you can stop reading here. If you want more information then keep reading.
We know that we all hate seeing money get deducted from our paycheques. So the instinctual reaction to hearing about paying 30% union dues is one of outrage. However consider these points:
- The way a strike usually works is union members receive 0% of their paycheque from the employer and they pay 0% union dues on that paycheque. Would you rather pay 30% of a full paycheque or 0% of no paycheque? We are actually very lucky that some of our members will be deemed essential and able to keep working. Making 70% of your normal pay while on strike is unheard of in the history of the labour movement. We sound very out of touch when we complain of paying 30% union dues on a normal paycheque while on strike when most striking workers receive no paycheque from their employer.
- Paramedics are not the only essential workers in our union. This 30% union dues rule is not targeted at paramedics and there will be thousands of other members of our union also going to work as essential workers and paying 30% union dues. Any suggestion that the 30% union dues are disproportionately unfair to paramedics is false. We will also be able to cycle people through being essential, so if the strike drags on then most people should get a few shifts to make 70% of their usual pay.
- Keep in mind that those on the picket line are giving up their paycheques to pressure AHS to give in to our collective demands. Those on the picket line will only be making $15/hr plus a portion of the 30% union dues. It wouldn't be fair to have some people making minimum wage and others making full paycheques while we are involved in collective struggle.
- Unions are not businesses and do not make profit. Union dues are always spent in a way to advance the interests of the members of a union. Any suggestion that increasing union dues is a money grab from the union to increase profits is false.
- Strikes suck for workers and employers. Once a strike happens, it becomes a game of who can last longer. It's a common tactic of employers to try to starve out workers by letting their strike fund run out so they need to come back to the table to accept the employers terms. Because we have essential workers it puts us in a great strategic position to prevent ourselves from being starved out. But it only works if those who are reporting to work help contribute to keep the strike going. The 30% union dues rule gives us a strong negotiating position because it shows the employer that we will continuously be helping our fellow union members who have walked off the job. We should really be embracing the 30% union dues rule.
Lastly, we are going to give some tough love. We have been listening to a lot of criticism for the last 3 years about how paramedics were "screwed over" on the last contract and our union should have voted no to the wage increase that we got. The reality is that AHS doesn't give a damn about whether we have a contract or not. They are perfectly happy to make an offer and leave it sitting there. We don't live in a fantasy land where we sit on our throne and AHS keeps bringing us better and better offers until we see one that we like. The next step when you vote no to an offer is to raise the stakes for the employer. The only way we can do that as workers is to go on strike. We can't have our cake and eat it to. We can't act tough about voting no and refusing a poor wage increase but also refuse to go on strike. HSAA has heard the members loud and clear since the last contract. We want a good pay raise. Our union has listened and has refused to present us with a tentative agreement because they haven't been offered anything that they think is worthy of our consideration. But we are now getting close to entering the next phase where we get called up to join the fight and pressure AHS to give us what we want. This is the exact opportunity that paramedics claim they wanted with the last contract. Well here it is folks, we are as close as we have ever been to hitting AHS where it hurts to bring them to their knees and give us what we want. If anyone is letting the prospect of 30% union dues or strike pay deter them from being willing to strike, then you don't want that pay raise as bad as you thought you did. And that's fine, it's a personal decision that everyone has the right to make. But if we vote no to going on strike and accept a mediocre offer then we don't want to hear any more complaining about being "forced to accept a bad contract".
Further Information can be found at:
Edmonton Ambulance Scheduling Variability
The number of ambulances scheduled fluctuates throughout the day depending on the day of the week and time of day. Our system is designed to peak with over 60 scheduled ambulances in the afternoon and evening Monday through Friday. Weekends and early mornings have the lowest number of scheduled ambulances with numbers dipping into the low 30's. For context, Edmonton has a population of over 1 million people. An EMS model that fluctuates between 30-65 ambulances throughout the week is not robust enough to handle the dynamic call volume that comes from a metropolitan city with over 1 million people.
HSAA Edmonton Paramedics have spent years advocating for a variety of schedules to promote work life balance and increase longevity of EMS careers. While we are pleased that paramedics are being offered more schedule variety, we are disappointed that it is being accomplished by simply rearranging current ambulances as opposed to adding new ambulances. The current amount of ambulances scheduled leave Edmonton with frequent periods of inadequate ambulance coverage.
The number of scheduled ambulances is also different from the actual number of ambulances available. Our recruitment and retention issues continue to result in chronic understaffing. The average staffing in 2025 has been 85%, which is displayed with the orange line. The worst day for staffing in 2025 so far has been 70%, which is displayed with the red line. So far, the month of June 2025 has averaged 84% staffing with the worst day being 75% staffing. There have been times with less than 30 ambulances on the road in Edmonton. Not only do we believe the current staffing model is inadequate but we also recognize that we frequently operate below our scheduled capacity. Both of these factors contribute to a decrease in EMS service for the people of Edmonton. Our high disabling injury rate of 21.14/100 staff, which was showcased in our post on June 18th, is a direct contributor to our inability to properly staff our scheduled ambulances. Paramedics can only provide service to the community if they are healthy enough to work. If we don't make efforts to lower the paramedic disabling injury rate then we will always be chasing staffing targets.
History of Member Engagement on EMS Psychological Safety Initiatives at AHSEMS
Psychological incidents are the highest reported safety concern reported in EMS. Worker representatives have been fighting for more engagement and involvement with the employer when it comes to designing and implementing psychological hazard controls.
Since 2014 HSAA has pushed for multiple committees to tackle these concern at a provincial /organizational level. Unfortunately, when the employer has a history of withdrawing from participation when challenged by worker members. Please find below the History of HSAAs fight to safeguard the psychological safety of frontline paramedics in Alberta.
Nothing About Us Without Us!
Edmonton Metro EMS - Disabling Injury Rate
How dangerous is it to work as a paramedic?
Through FOIP requests, we have been tracking disabling injury rates that clearly show EMS is an outlier when compared to the provincial average. Any physical or psychological injury that results in a worker missing at least one day of work is considered a disabling injury. The data shows EMS services have a higher disabling injury rate in general. However, Edmonton Metro EMS has consistently had a staggering rate higher than other industries and ambulance services. While this graph uses data from 2023, our most recent FOIP requests have shown the 2024/2025 AHS fiscal year had a disabling injury rate of 21.14 per 100 staff in Edmonton Metro EMS. This means roughly 1 in 5 Edmonton paramedics suffered a disabling injury in 2024/2025. Paramedics face several hazards on the job including traffic accidents, violent patients, lifting patients and psychological injury from exposure to traumatic incidents. Despite these hazards, every paramedic deserves to end their shift just as healthy as they were when they started it.
The consistently high disabling injury rate of Edmonton paramedics shows that EMS culture accepts high injury rates as "part of the job". This is unacceptable and is a direct contributor to paramedics leaving the profession in droves. It is possible to decrease our injury rate and we want to see change that prioritizes protecting paramedics. Unnecessary lights and sirens driving, increased workloads, decreased resources, lack of convenient reporting for violence against paramedics, lack of consequences for those who assault paramedics and lack of downtime to decompress and recover from the stress of the job are all areas that can see improvement.
Keeping paramedics healthy is what allows them to be available to serve the public. Investing in reducing and mitigating the hazards of EMS will result in better retention rates and a more robust workforce that is able to provide the pre-hospital care that the public deserves.
Edmonton Metro EMS Call Volume
Have you ever wondered how many calls Edmonton paramedics respond to every month? Check out these numbers for average monthly call volume by year:
2018 – 8,254 calls/month
2019 – 8,536 calls/month
2020 – 8,920 calls/month
2021 – 10,240 calls/month
2022 – 10,496 calls/month
2023 – 11,292 calls/month
2024 – 11,759 calls/month
2025 – 12,604 calls/month
The number of 911 calls has been steadily increasing year over year. In 2025, we are averaging 12,600 calls per month. May 2025 alone saw an average of 550 EMS 911 calls per day in Edmonton. In contrast, January 2018 saw an average of less than 300 EMS 911 calls per day. This is an explosive increase in demand being placed on our EMS system and frontline paramedics. Unfortunately, the number of ambulances has not increased proportionally to the call volume in that same amount of time.
The burden of keeping up with the ever-increasing demand of 911 calls has fallen on the shoulders of front line paramedics. Instead of adding more ambulances, the strategic focus has remained on reducing the amount of time paramedics spend at hospitals to offload patients. While this is an area that needed improvement, it is not the solution to meeting increased call volume of this magnitude. The current strategic solutions being proposed for EMS amount to having paramedics work harder to increase the number of calls that can be completed in a shift. This increased demand being placed on paramedics leads to increased levels of stress and burnout because paramedics don’t have time to rest and decompress in between calls. Furthermore, paramedics frequently must stay past the end of their shifts due to late calls.
This graph below clearly shows that as call volume steadily increases the number of ambulances remains relatively stagnant.
This is not sustainable. This is not an issue that can be solved by improving efficiency, rebranding or changing a logo. The way you satisfy increased demand is by increasing supply. We need more ambulances to properly respond to the increasing 911 calls.
38 Card Concerns Update
Through the advocacy of front line staff, in conjunction with the work of the EZ EMS JWHS Committee and CCC Dispatch - EMS Liaison Committee, excellent progress is being made on resolving concerns with the current use of the 38 Card.
The Employer has heard our safety concerns and is working on dialing back the applicability of 38 Cards to only when Law enforcement (in Edmonton Metro - EPS and Peace Officers - Fun fact this also includes West Edmonton Mall Security officers as they are trained as Peace Officers) are physically on scene requesting EMS.
No more 4th party, we saw it on a camera, nor Commissionaires who have no legislative ability nor duty to intervene.
This will greatly reduce the safety risk to staff attending these events
The other concern that was brought forward were delays in patient care. Staff reported numerous events at transit stations where there were delays getting EFD / Extra resources attached to 38 cards with CPR in progress, or events that turned out to be cardiac arrests. Dispatch is working to put EFD back on the 38 card to come and assist us.
EFD’s primary concern was responding to shelters where medical staff are already providing patient care, and to deal with this concern Dispatch is looking at using a different and more appropriate coding, possibly the 33 card.
There is still work and conversations that need to occur in the background, but expect to see this resolved in the near future. Please take this as evidence that MSNs, RLSs, and CCC Forms can effect change.
On ESAs, Mediation, and Job Action
Executive Officer Town Hall Summary from March 17th:
We cannot start formal mediation until our Essential Services Agreement (ESA) is filed with the Labour Relations Board. The ESA lays out the bare minimum level of staffing that must be maintained during a strike or lockout. We have agreed to the staffing levels but the last thing that hasn’t been decided yet is who is responsible for scheduling essential workers during a strike. AHS want HSAA to do the scheduling and vice versa. The issue of who is responsible for scheduling is currently in front of an arbitrator with a decision expected within 1-5 weeks. HSAA has decided to accept whatever decision the arbitrator makes so that we don’t delay formal mediation any longer.
Fenton Corey, the LRO who helped create our ESA, explained that our ESA allows a lot of healthcare workers to walk off the job in the event of a strike. Even a profession like EMS, which I had previously said would be 100% staffing, will be able to have 20% of staff walk off the job on top of any normal vacancies. Fenton assured us that if we go on strike it will grind the healthcare system to a halt. The current ESA is designed to cover a 7 day period but it can be extended as needed. The hope is obviously that a healthcare strike would not last very long.
Even though we have seen other unions, including UNA, agree to tentative CBA’s at the bargaining table. The reality is that HSAA is still very far apart with AHS and there is no guarantee that we will be able to reach a tentative CBA in formal mediation. In other words, this is the closest we have ever been to a strike and it’s very possible that we may end up going on strike. HSAA is currently ordering things that we will need to form picket lines and is going to look at starting to train “picket captains” to help organize our picket lines.
If we do go on strike, we will be able to rotate people between picket lines and being an essential worker since we can only have 20% of staff walking off the job every shift. This will hopefully help relieve some of the financial strain of going on strike for our members. Keep in mind though that going on strike is hard on everyone and is not meant to be a pleasant experience. We just watched CUPE education assistants go on strike for 9 weeks through the winter and I know that was really hard on them but they did a great job sticking together and got a better CBA as a result.
I asked during the Q and A how disruptive HSAA is willing to let our members get. I specifically asked about the possibility of ordering arm bands that paramedics can wear at work that say something like “fair deal” or “strike ready”. I was told that they liked the arm band idea and they were not opposed to doing something like that. I have since sent a follow up email to Mike Parker formally asking for our union to buy arm bands that we can wear at work in solidarity. Our LUE has also set aside money in our budget to pursue something like this but if we can get HSAA to bulk order them for multiple Locals then I think that would be better.
In terms of timelines, we are likely looking at May or June for a possible strike vote if we are unable to reach a deal during formal mediation.
Paramedics’ Place in HSAA - The Union of Healthcare Professionals
What is a Union?
Let’s start with the basics to get everyone on the same page. What is a Union? The simplest definition is that a Union is an organization of workers who join together to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment. I want to emphasize that a Union is comprised of workers. Never think of a Union as a 3rd party that is separate from the workers. Unionized labour relations are not a triangle between the employer, the workers, and the Union. It’s still just the employer and the workers, however the workers band together as a Union to fight for themselves. Some people may suggest that a Union is a business and Union dues are “membership fees” paid by workers to receive a service. This is not so. Our Union, HSAA, is comprised of over 30,000 healthcare workers. Without those 30,000 workers, there is no HSAA. The workers are HSAA. We are HSAA. It stands to reason that any of our complaints about HSAA are a call to action for us to change how HSAA operates.
Unions are important because they are the only way workers can have power. As individual healthcare workers, we do not have any power. The power of workers comes from large numbers. A great analogy is breaking pencils. One pencil is easy to break, but a large handful of pencils is much harder. A Union turns powerless individuals into a powerful group. Power is an important concept for us to think about. Everything a Union does is about power. Either gaining it or exercising it.
The Organizational Chart of HSAA
I love using this chart to reinforce the idea that workers are one and the same with our Union. You will notice that the members of HSAA are at the top of the organizational chart. A Union is one of the only organizations in the world where the rank-and-file members are at the top. This is because the members comprise the Union, so of course they are the highest-ranking authority. Members democratically elect representatives and decide what matters the Union will focus on. If members want a Union to change, they can accomplish it through the established democratic processes of the Union. A Union is ultimately only as strong as it’s members.
Where Do Paramedics Fit in with HSAA?
I think it’s important to recognize that as paramedics, we are healthcare professionals as well as first responders. Political changes to healthcare administration and policy greatly effect our jobs and livelihoods. We are also employed by a large healthcare authority. Therefore, it makes sense for us to join forces with other healthcare workers to form a Union. We are lucky that our profession has great representation amongst the Executive of HSAA. Our president, Mike Parker, is an Edmonton paramedic. Two Edmonton District Board members are Edmonton paramedics. One Central District Board Member is a paramedic. One Calgary District Board Member is a paramedic. Our AHS bargaining committee has two paramedics on it, including one from Edmonton. Everywhere you look within HSAA, there are paramedics present and fighting for us. But how many paramedics are in HSAA?
In March of 2024, the top 5 largest professions in HSAA were[1]:
1. Laboratory Assistant 3,401
2. Primary Care Paramedic 2,093
3. Laboratory Technologist 2,064
4. Respiratory Therapist 1,482
5. Advanced Care Paramedic 1,481
You can see from these numbers that the combined total of Lab Assistants and Technologists outnumber the total of PCPs and ACPs. Furthermore, these numbers show that out of approximately 30,000 members, paramedics make up about 12% of the HSAA membership. I demonstrate these numbers to further establish the idea that being a part of HSAA gives paramedics more power than if we were in our own Union. The power of workers comes from large numbers. Our power is greater when we are part of a group of 30,000 as opposed to 3,500. As it stands, our profession has a disproportionate amount of representation in the Executive of HSAA, which gives us a large and powerful voice within our Union despite only making up 12% of the membership.
I strongly believe that we need to abandon any thoughts of leaving HSAA. Notwithstanding the logistical and legal hurdles that would entail, we are still better off focusing on changing HSAA from the inside to address our Union’s shortcomings.
[1] HSAA 2024 Annual Report
Q. Why is it stronger for us to be in a union with other healthcare fields with little to no overlap with our own, and whose goals in a negotiation may even contradict our own?
A: I really want to have these discussions. I believe that it all comes back to power. The power of workers comes from large numbers. Our ability to pool resources with other healthcare professions gives us a stronger voice to combat powerful institutions like provincial governments and AHS. Interestingly, we can draw a case study from here in Alberta of what happens when a small group of healthcare workers leaves a strong union to start their own. Nurse practitioners have started their own union that is separate from UNA. Most people have never heard of the nurse practitioner union because they are small and lack power to accomplish anything.
I’m worried that paramedics would face a similar fate if we left HSAA to form our own union. For starters, we would have way less money collected from union dues. This would make it difficult to hire staff to run the day to day operations that come with a union. We would have less money to help us with bargaining and fighting legal battles that inevitably arise. We would be easier for politicians and AHS to ignore. Because it’s easier to ignore a small group than a big group. Any actions that we took to mobilize would not be as powerful. Think about the difference between 30000 people simultaneously participating in a mass action as opposed to 3500.
Additionally, I would argue that other healthcare fields are aligned with paramedics on almost every front. We all want a strong public healthcare system, we want fair compensation for our labour, we want safe working environments, we want to be able to retire one day, and ultimately we want to be treated with respect and dignity. Everything we fight for as a union is some variation of these aligned principles. Furthermore, I acknowledge that we are unique as paramedics and we face many challenges other members of our union don’t face. But I would suggest that we are not uniquely unique. Every profession and worksite has specific challenges that only apply to them. I believe that it is the job of those individual professions and local units to organize together to address those issues themselves as opposed to relying on “the union” to save them. When I think of challenges like violence against paramedics, end of shift OT and bio breaks being denied. The solution isn’t to find a different union that will fight those battles for us. The solution is for us to realize that we are the union and we need to come together and fight those battles ourselves. It’s not other healthcare professions that hold us back, it’s our own inability to organize as a collective unit and fight for ourselves.
I will also point out that we are very well supported by other healthcare professions in our union. If you take the time to talk to our fellow union members, everyone wants to see paramedics get treated better. It’s a well known issue that our pay is below professions with similar education and scope. And no one I’ve ever met in HSAA advocates for that. It’s our employer that repeatedly refuses to address it. Moreover, at convention in May 2024, there was a resolution proposed to have HSAA try to get a supplemental pension for EMS due to our shorter average career length. Our EMS delegates were worried that no one would vote for it because it was too EMS specific. Much to our surprise, several non EMS members spoke in favour of the resolution and it passed with almost 100% voting in favour. Another great example of the support we receive from our fellow union members.
I want paramedics to start driving change from within HSAA. Just because we don’t have our own union doesn’t mean we can’t use the resources of HSAA to fight for ourselves. A union is only as strong as its members. So the solution is never to start a new union, the solution is to strengthen our current union by organizing at the rank and file level to maximize power.
Q: Don’t we need to have our own union to have our unique needs addressed?
A: I would argue those specific things in the contract in the EMS index are a great example of how we can still address our unique needs while belonging to a larger collective bargaining unit. We don’t need to have our own union to have our unique needs addressed.
A lot of the changes that we want to see for paramedics have failed to materialize because AHS refuses to accept them. However, we often mistakenly blame our allied healthcare professions in HSAA for “holding us back”. When in reality they would be glad to see us get what we deserve.
I’m suggesting that if all we do is leave HSAA and change the name of our union that AHS will continue to refuse to listen to our paramedic specific demands (because they ultimately don’t give a damn about us). A better solution is to use our collective power to start applying pressure to AHS to give us what we want.
I’d love for us to come together as a profession and start a campaign showing the public how rampant violence is against paramedics and why we deserve hazard pay. If we have a good enough plan, we could even ask the board of directors for funding to help us fight this battle. And we could use the communications resources of HSAA to spread our message. We could start religiously filling out msns for everything and drawing attention to how much time paramedics miss due to workplace injury. But these efforts require maximum participation and effort from us. We can’t keep shopping for different unions that will fight these battles for us. We will always be disappointed.
Belonging to a large and established union amplifies our voice. It doesn’t weaken it. We can join together with other professions to fight for common goals while also maintaining autonomy to fight our own specific battles.
UCP MLAs Deaf to HSAA insights on Recovery, Additions, and Mental health at October HSAA Lobby Day
At the start of this week on the 29th, the chair of our Edmonton Metro EMS Local, Micheal Lockerby, had the opportunity to attend a Lobby Day at the Alberta Legislature building.
The purpose of this Lobby Day was to educate and talk about Recovery, Addictions and Mental Health with MLAs. Come the morning of the 29th, all UCP MLAs had cancelled their meetings with HSAA front line staff.
NDP MLAs still agreed to meet, and as a group, the HSAA members present were able to come forward with their concerns. Lockerby reports he was able to relay a story or 2 from the EMS perspective, patient and practitioner relevant. Naturally, all the NDP MLAs he talked to were caught off guard by what Lockerby had to share.
In the afternoon during Question Period, a NDP MLA asked the UCP MLAs if they would reconsider meeting with HSAA members - some of of the HSAA members present had travelled from Lethbridge and La Crete (far and wide). The UCP MLAs would NOT meet with any HSAA members.
The UCP MLAs claimed that they could not have any conversations HSAA members as HSAA is in Bargaining. The discussions that day were about the new Recovery, Addictions and Mental Health model, not about bargaining. Its seems the earplugs they donned on June 19th of 2019, so they didn't have to listen to the concerns of working Albertans, are still strongly in place.
Global News : alberta-legislature-bill-9-debate-earplugs
The NDP MLAs once again tried to get even a hallway chat with UCP and HSAA members.
The UCP MLAs again declined to meet with our members.
If you have a MLA that falls under “does not want to talk about it” we implore you to reach out to that MLA as a constituent. Ask some questions, try to start a conversation. Try to inform them of our mental health issues and challenges - EMS and system wide.
Thanks for your time everyone. Play safe out there!
Bargaining Update 14 / Rally For Respect
TO:
All HSAA Members employed by Alberta Health Services (AHS)
FROM:
AHS Bargaining Committee
RE:
AHS Bargaining Update #14: Employer refuses to negotiate on wages
Hi EDMO,
Your Bargaining Committee met on October 10 with the intention to bargain our full monetary proposals with AHS. These dates were our opportunity to fight for financial justice on your behalf.
When we got to the table on the morning of October 10, the employer refused to budge on their mandate or respond to any of our monetary proposals. This approach demonstrates contempt and disrespect to all of us as members. It is also an affront to the bargaining process and the entire HSAA membership. Your committee has remained focused on progressing through bargaining to achieve our mandate provided to us by our membership. The employer's refusal to negotiate monetary proposals has resulted in a breakdown of negotiations, and it was decided that there was no point in continuing to meet on October 11.
Your Bargaining Committee feels that we have reached a point in negotiations where the time is right to share with you the insulting and unfair monetary proposal they refuse to move off.
The employer's opening proposal is an increase of 7.5% over four years (2%, 2%, 1.75% and 1.75%). This proposal is even more offensive as the employer seeks to punish 21% (4466) of our members by proposing only paying lump sum payments based on the proposed percentages rather than applying them to the base wage rate, effectively freezing wages. The employer believes these classifications to be “over market” based on their interpretation of an Ontario West comparison of union wages.
Heath Information Management Professionals
Social Workers
Speech Language Pathologists
Respiratory Therapists
Pharmacy Technicians
Throughout our negotiations, the employer has brought nothing to the bargaining table to improve EMS pay disparity or working conditions.
Your committee rejects the employer’s attempt to divide our membership and not live up to their obligation to provide all HSAA members with wage increases that exceed the high cost of living pressures and show that they care for the financial well-being of health-care workers. We had the intention to make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement and bargain collectively in good faith but due to the employer’s lack of willingness to bargain, we have not deviated from our opening proposals of 25% in year one and 10% in year two.
We will now move forward with informal mediation - stay tuned for more information. Our committee is feeling very frustrated. We have put in countless hours preparing and advocating for you. Our demands are what we deserve.
We’ve done all we can and exhausted every avenue through this phase of bargaining - now it’s time to come together in a united voice and collective action.
We have a few requests for HSAA members to support our efforts to reach a fair agreement.
Please join us and thousands of other public sector union members for the Rally for Respect on October 24 in Edmonton. We are coming together to speak to the government and Albertans in one collective voice to say it is time to show respect at the bargaining table and respect for public services. You were emailed the details and an RSVP link on October 9. Please attend if you are able and wear HSAA blue.
We also need everyone to share this update. Talk to your co-workers, friends and family. Share with them what this disrespectful offer will mean to you and the health-care system Albertans value. Without HSAA members, there is no health care, and without fair wages, the staffing crisis will only get worse.
Next week, we will be asking you and our thousands of passionate public health-care supporters to email your MLAs and urge them to show you the respect and fair wages you deserve. When we came together in our last round of bargaining to collectively lobby our MLAS over wage rollbacks, we got their attention and succeeded. Let's do it again!
When HSAA members from across the province come together in collective action for a common cause we become an unstoppable force of solidarity.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this bargaining update, please reach out to HSAA through our bargaining email at AHSbargaining@hsaa.ca.
In solidarity,
Your AHS Bargaining Team
Megan Connolly, Social Worker, Calgary (Chair)
Sarah Dorma, Social Worker, Calgary
Dean Rombough, Public Health Inspector, Edmonton
Jason Soklofske, Advanced Care Paramedic, Medicine Hat (South)
Vicki Wakulchyk, Addictions Counsellor, Calgary
Sarah Mullin, Social Worker, Red Deer (Central)
Kelly Sherwood, Advanced Care Paramedic, Edmonton
Chandra Arsenault, Respiratory Therapist, Edmonton
Brittany Fandrick, Dental Hygienist, Westlock (North)
Todd Romanow, HSAA Labour Relations Officer (Lead Spokesperson)
Jody Machtans, HSAA Labour Relations Officer, (Spokesperson)
Sheena Schiemann, HSAA Administrative Assistant Negotiations
To RSVP for the Rally - Click Here
Oct 24 - General Alberta Union Rally at the Leg Grounds
***UPDATE - We will be meeting at the Fallen Paramedic Memorial for 1100***
Well the time has come. For those of you wanting to take action and do more we have a Rally to attend. This Rally will be held at the Legislature on Thursday Oct.24th @ 1130 - 1230 hrs. This will be in conjunction with UNA and AUPE members. This will be a test of sorts, to see how angry, fed up and pissed off all you unionized healthcare professionals are.
This is a “days-off” event for our EMS colleagues, if you are on “days-off” please come on down and spend a hour or so telling the government what we truly value and what we want. DO NOT come in uniform!
If you happen to be on ambulance and in the area please
DO NOT ATTEND
The employer wishes to remind all staff of Article 4.04
- An Employee shall not engage in Union business during their working hours without prior permission of the Employer.
Staff at work are on paid time and Permission has not been granted
There is plenty of piss and vinegar on Social Media. We, your HSAA Local Unit Executive would like to see how this translates into bodies showing up when it counts. We are all the union, every single one of us. There is only one of me but many of us.
Make us proud
Lockerby and your LUE!
Bill 32 Election Day: Say YES to Solidarity
Friday September 27th 2024, all members of HSAA will receive a ballot in their email asking them to opt in to dues for non core activities.
This a requirement since Bill 32 was passed by the UCP in 2020.
I have posted my youtube video below on the topic. Please give it a watch if you do not know about Bill 32.
The main takeaway points are that non core activities are an important part of our union. It helps us support pro labour causes that advance our interests and also helps us contribute to our communities through financial donations to charities and non profits. At the end of the day, our union is a democratic organization that belongs to us, the workers. No government should have any say on what our union spends money on. It's an egregious example of government over reach and is a direct attack on our agency as organized workers. Bill 32 claims to be "restoring balance" in the workplace but what it's actually doing is taking power away from unions to weaken the position of workers and create a power imbalance in favor of employers.
Bill 32 by design will have members automatically opt out unless they vote to opt in. Those members who opt out will save around $50 per year and realistically those members will save even less because those $50 in union dues savings are tax deductible. This is a small amount on an individual level but adds up fast when you consider that our union has over 30,000 members.
Please join myself and the other members of our LUE and vote to opt in this year. Specific examples of what the non core dues support include:
- Dues to the Alberta Federation of Labour and Canadian Labour Congress
- Support for organizations like the Parkland Institute (who completed the report "Lights and Sirens: The critical condition of EMS in Alberta"
- Donations to food banks and women's shelters
- and many more
I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have.
More info is also available @ our Bill 32 Page
HSAA / AHS Bargaining Update 12
New bargaining updated from a few days ago.
Progress was made with the remaining non monetary items. This has resulted in improved language around management rights, grievances, leaves of absence for school and how long discipline stays on your employee file. Non monetary items are still an important part of our collective agreement and help ensure that we have rights that are consistent with us being treated with respect and dignity. As I have mentioned before, employers inherently have a large amount of power. The 2 main ways that an employer's power can be reduced is through the law and collective bargaining. In other words, as long as something isn't against the law or in a collective agreement (which is a legal contract), the employer can do as they please. This ability for the employer to do as they please is also called management rights. Therefore, workers must either lobby the government to pass laws in our favor or enshrine our demands in a collective agreement in order to ensure that our demands will be adhered to and we have protection from employers abusing their power. It sounds like we have made progress improving some of our protections and working conditions through non monetary items.
The reason non monetary items are discussed before monetary items in bargaining is because we want to find as much common ground as possible before hitting an impasse. In the event that we do go to mediation or binding arbitration, we want to have as little outstanding items as possible. Obviously, monetary items have the most potential for an impasse. So bargaining traditionally starts with non monetary items. This can be frustrating since monetary items are often the most important to us as workers. But based on this most recent update, it sounds like they are going to start negotiating monetary items this month.
Previous updates have stated that AHS's opening position was to offer us a 7.5% pay raise over 4 years and HSAA's opening position was a 25% increase in year 1 followed by a 10% increase in year 2. Our opening position is based on economic data that shows 35% is the pay raise necessary to make up for the last 10+ years of stagnated wages combined with inflation. In other words, it actually isn't that outrageous when you examine the supporting data. The number looks outrageous because it is several magnitudes bigger than previous public sector pay raises but the circumstances around these negotiations are unprecedented so there isn't really a fair comparison in recent memory. You will hear a lot of anti labour propaganda scoffing at our opening position. Please keep in mind that the numbers have to be viewed relative to economic conditions and not in a vacuum. Groceries and housing costs alone have gone up more than 35% in the last few years and we shouldn't shy away from asking for what we deserve.
With all that being said, there is a huge difference between 7.5% over 4 years and 35% over 2 years. Like any negotiation, the final number will end up somewhere between the two positions. That doesn't mean it will end up perfectly in the middle. It can end up skewed towards one position or the other. Our bargaining committee mentions in their update that they are anticipating hitting an impasse and requiring mediation. The nurse's union, UNA, has a similar opening monetary position to HSAA and has already hit an impasse and is starting mediation soon. Mediation involves a 3rd party joining the negotiations and trying to help both parties find common ground to resolve the impasse.
One of the factors complicating our negotiations is the Public Sectors Employer Act. This act was passed by the UCP government and gives the Minster of Finance the legislative authority to issue directives that set strategic direction in public sector bargaining, including term and fiscal limits, and the means to ensure that government direction is met prior to agreement being reached. PESA also allows the Minister to request various kinds of bargaining related information around compensation, employment and labour market data from affected employers. This means that the UCP are pulling the puppet strings of the AHS bargaining team. The UCP have already given the AHS bargaining team hard limits that they aren't allowed to pass when it comes to monetary items. And these hard limits are secret and shielded from FOIP requests. Our bargaining committee is essentially negotiating with a group that isn't allowed to make their own decisions and are guided by secret mandates. If that sounds unfair and stupid, it's because it is. It's another example of the bad faith bargaining AHS and the UCP are subjecting us to.
I hear a lot of frustration from our members that they want our union to hurry up with negotiations. Keep in mind that negotiations could end today if we accepted AHS's offer of 7.5% over 4 years. The reason we don't hurry up and accept the first offer is because it is insultingly low and does not align with our demands as workers. The reason the negotiations continue to drag on is because our bargaining committee is fighting to make gains in our favor and that takes time. Stalling negotiations is a classic employer tactic to frustrate members into turning on their union or finally accepting a mediocre offer just to be done with bargaining. I encourage everyone to remain patient and keep any anger or frustration directed at AHS as opposed to our union.
Lastly, there are important developments taking place right now that may influence our bargaining strategy. CUPE education workers are close to going on strike and as I mentioned, UNA is entering into mediation for monetary items. Watching how these two processes unfold will give us insight into how the government and the public respond to mediation and job action. I will try to provide updates on these matters as things develop.
As always, please don't hesitate to ask questions. If I don't know the answer, I will try to help you find it. You can also reach out to any member of our LUE if you want to discuss questions or concerns.
Letter of Understanding REACHED between HSAA and AHS - Transfer Agreement to Provincial Health Authorities
New bargaining update today. A Letter of Understanding has been reached between our union and AHS regarding the transfer of members from AHS to Recovery Alberta or any other newly created provincial health agencies in the future. This allows those members affected to choose their employer based on the availability of vacant positions in the same classification. And provides protections to other aspects of employment such as seniority date, pre approved vacation and time off being honoured and hours worked toward climbing the salary grid being carried over.
AHS was previously unwilling to commit to these terms. However, these terms are now in the collective agreement, which is a legal contract. These are the steps that we must take as a union to protect ourselves. Promises from AHS mean nothing. We must get what we want in writing, in a legal contract. Compassion and kindness are rarely shown to us in good faith.
If you have watched my Youtube videos, then you will know that I love framing everything through a lens of power. Power is present in every workplace. Employers want as much power as possible and they want to exercise that power over employees to serve their own self interests. Unfortunately, power inherently belongs to the employer because they control the means of production. And that’s what we were seeing with AHS. AHS controls the provincial health care agencies and they wanted absolute power to control their employees to suit the needs of the provincial health care agencies. Our union and collective bargaining is what gives us the workers power. This is an example of our union using the power of collective bargaining to take power away from AHS and use our power to get what we want. This may not seem noteworthy to some of you but it’s a great example of the power we have as workers. AHS (or any employer for that matter) isn’t a monolith. We can force them to change.
I loathe the fact that I need to spend most of my adult life working for someone else. Therefore, I am very passionate about the labour movement and getting treated with respect and dignity as a worker. I enjoy talking about unions and labour and I believe that the rank and file worker is the most important agent of change. Please continue to ask questions and seek discussion. It’s how we learn together to increase our understanding of the issues we face.
Check your email for links to the LOU
Why is this important to EMS?
Because nobody has any idea what is going to happen as the UCP tears our Health Care System asunder. Nothing is true and anything is possible:
https://www.airdriecityview.com/local-news/alberta-premier-reveals-plans-to-transfer-hospitals-away-from-ahs-9387543 ( the UCP wants Covenant to run rural hospitals)
Nothing is out of bounds for this government, we have no idea what pillar EMS will ultimately end up in.
United we bargain. Divided we beg.
Essential Service Agreements, Labor Action, and YOU
There have been some questions arising from members about what our rights are as paramedics when it comes to job action and what may happen if a collective agreement can't be negotiated at the bargaining table. Hopefully this post can answer some of those questions.
So first, what is a strike? Well a strike includes (1) a cessation of work, (2) a refusal to work, or (3) a refusal to continue to work, by two or more employees for the purpose of compelling their employer to agree to terms or conditions of employment. This can also be referred to as "job action" and it can take many different forms. A strike can involve walking off the job and forming a picket line. But it can also involve other actions such as work to rule, where workers slow down their work by following all policies to a strict interpretation or even collective actions to harm the employer such as collectively refusing to pick up voluntary OT.
When can a strike happen? Well a strike can be legal or illegal. In order to be in a legal strike position the following must happen:
1. Any collective agreement between the union and the employer must be expired.
2. The parties must enter into collective bargaining.
3. The parties must work with a government- appointed mediator.
4. A 14-day cooling-off period must elapse following mediation.
5. A Labour Board-supervised strike vote (unions) or lockout poll (employers) must be taken and a majority of those voting must agree to the strike or lockout.
6. One party must serve the other (as well as the mediator) with 72 hours of notice before the strike or lockout commences.
We are currently at step 2 of this process and hopefully a deal can be reached without having to go further. You will also note that step 5 says that a majority of workers voting must vote in favor of a strike. But as a union, we do not want to hold a strike vote unless we know that we are going to have 90%+ vote in favor. This is because any amount less than that looks weak and shows that we lack the solidarity to win through a prolonged strike. Think about the different messages a 51% in favor strike vote sends to the employer vs a 97% in favor strike vote.
If the above requirements are not met, then any job action is considered illegal. This means the Alberta Labour Relations Board can order the workers to cease the job action, those participating can be disciplined by the employer and the union can be fined. In October 2020, several AUPE local units walked off the job suddenly in a wildcat strike. This is a strike done without union leadership approval and done without being in a legal strike position. This wildcat strike lasted 1 day and they were ordered back to work by the Alberta Labour Relations Board. Hundreds of workers received workplace discipline and the union was later fine $1.6 million or the equivalent of 1 month worth of union dues at the locals involved as punishment. And that was a 1 day illegal strike. Keep in mind, that any collective action that we do as a local to protest against AHS could be considered illegal job action and our union could be fined and we could be disciplined.
So can healthcare workers legally strike if they meet the requirements? In 2015, the supreme court of Canada ruled that healthcare workers are allowed to strike provided that the life, personal safety or health of the public are protected. The way this requirement is met is through the negotiation of Essential Services Agreements (ESA). An ESA determines the minimum staffing levels for each profession that must be maintained to satisfy those requirements to protect the public. As paramedics, we are 100% essential and would not be able to have anyone walk off the job. However, a profession like physiotherapists would likely be able to have most of them walk off the job. Remember, our collective bargaining unit has over 150 professions and each one would have their own ESA.
If our collective bargaining unit went on strike, what would that look like for paramedics? Because we are 100% essential, we would all continue to show up to work as usual and we would continue to get paid. Our brothers and sisters who are deemed not essential would walk off the job and hit the picket line. They would not be getting paid by AHS. Our union has a strike fund to help pay for the cost of a strike, including providing strike pay for time spent on the picket line. But this strike pay is not much, especially compared to the wages we make in our collective agreement. To help with this, those of us who continue to go to work and get paid our normal wage would pay 30% of our gross wages to union dues instead of 1.4%. These extra union dues would help fund the strike. So as paramedics, our take home pay would be significantly less. But we are expected to stand in solidarity with those who have been allowed to walk off the job and it's our responsibility to help support them to keep our strike viable. Striking isn't meant to be pleasant or easy for anyone.
What is a scab? A scab is someone who crosses a picket line to work for an employer who's workers are on strike. It is the cardinal sin of the working class.
Would paramedics be considered scabs? No. Because we are legally required to show up to work as per the ESA. We are also paying increased union dues to support the strike.
What happens if I scab? Any member of HSAA who scabs will have to pay 100% of their wages as union dues. In other words you would be working for free. You would also likely be kicked out of the union. AHS might start offering big money to healthcare workers to come work during a strike. There could even be paramedic staffing agencies who offer big money contracts to work for AHS during that time. But any work outside an ESA would be considered a betrayal of the union and undermine a strike. It's the worst thing a union member can do.
Keep in mind as well, in order for a strike to be successful, especially as public sector healthcare workers, we need the public to support us. We need the public to view us as community allies to help put pressure on AHS to give in to our demands. This is tricky because we need to cause a headache for AHS by withholding our labour while also not pissing off the public by making it too difficult for them to access healthcare.
Please keep asking questions. It's important that we all understand the collective bargaining process and what our rights are. I hope we don't have to resort to job action but we also have to be aware that it's a possibility andunderstand what that means for us as paramedics. Hopefully this was informative.
Paramedics have the right to Refuse Dangerous Work
What Is a Dangerous Work Refusal?
A worker may refuse to work or to do work at a work site if the worker believes on reasonable grounds that there is a dangerous condition at the work site, or that the work constitutes a danger to the worker’s health and safety or to the health and safety of another worker or another person. The manager and worker will work together to remove the dangerous situation. If at any time you need more assistance with a dangerous work refusal, your Workplace Health and Safety Advisor can help.
What do you need to do?
Step 1: Worker believes there is a dangerous work condition.
Step 2: Worker promptly reports the work refusal to their manager or supervisor, along with their reasons they believe the work is dangerous.
Step 3: Manager and worker work together to assess the situation and determine if it can be resolved right away.
Step 4: If resolved: the worker goes back to work and an incident report is submitted in MySafetyNet.
Step 5: If NOT resolved: see the Dangerous Work refusal flowcharts below. Submit an incident report in MySafetyNet.
Step 6: Call your local Workplace Health and Safety Advisor if you need assistance.
Common EMS scenarios that may trigger a refusal of dangerous work
Violent scenes unsecured by Police
Defunct CO detector
Defunct portable radios
Defunct AC/Heating in ambulance
Absent PPE - Gloves / Eye Protection / Gowns / Respiratory protection
Please consult the Edmonton Zone EMS Hazard Identification Assessment and Control (HIAC) for further details on controls and equipment that have been implemented to keep you safe on the job.
Sources:
EZ EMS HIACs - https://www.ahsems.com/secure/training/getFile.jsp?id=983102
Dangerous Work Refusal Program - https://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/hr/Page4818.aspx
AB OHS - Refuse Dangerous Work - https://www.alberta.ca/refuse-dangerous-work