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MARTIN DE RUYTER
St John and FIRST Union have withdrawn the strike that would have seen hundreds of paramedics leave work this week.
Two 24-hour strikes by ambulance officers taking place across the country this week have been canceled.
About 300 St John ambulance officers were required to leave work for 24 hours starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday, followed by a second 24-hour strike on Saturday, as part of a broader strike action by members. of the First Union.
On Tuesday afternoon, the union and St John reported that industrial action had been withdrawn and full emergency ambulance services would resume as normal.
Abigail dougherty
About 300 ambulance officers from St John were to go on strike on Wednesday and Saturday.
The announcement came just over 12 hours before the strike began, after the union and St John “reached an agreement” ratified by First Union members on Tuesday afternoon.
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First Union organizer Sarah Stone previously said that there were three main reasons ambulance professionals had voted for a full strike, around shift pay, lower wages and classification.
In 2019, St John signed an agreement to introduce shift pay and recognize night and weekend work.
However, St John had not yet started paying the agreed rate, half that of the rest of the industry, which angered union members, who said the charity “was not fulfilling its end of the bargain.”
Stone said that during the negotiation, St John also confirmed that he wants to remove minimum staffing levels, hours and workplaces from the collective agreement.
Union members were concerned that this did not offer the same protection as having them written into their contracts, and were “deeply concerned” that it could also result in public safety problems.
The new agreement would see the full implementation of an independent salary review commissioned by St John while ensuring that no staff member earns less than they would earn from a previous agreement to implement penalty rates of 25 percent for nights and weekends. during a transition period.
St John’s board had also approved its executive team’s request to increase the ambulance service’s operating deficit by an additional $ 1 million to allow for this deal, according to a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Concerns that arose during the negotiation about the salary progression of existing call dispatchers and operators were also resolved as part of the offer.
First Union Secretary for Transportation, Logistics and Manufacturing Jared Abbott said it was a “fair offer” that would see a number of employees receive “significant” pay adjustments.
“The agreement is the first step in rebuilding the relationship between the parties and will allow staff to refocus on their key priority of providing a safe and efficient ambulance service.”
St John said he was glad he was able to avoid a strike.
