Story by Jon Gauthier
All signs point to a new labour deal for B.C. paramedics and ambulance dispatchers.
Their union reached an agreement in principle with their employer this week.
The agreement was reached between the Health Employers’ Association of British Columbia (HEABC) and the Ambulance Paramedics and Ambulance Dispatchers Bargaining Association.
The association is represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 873.
More details about the agreement will be available when the roughly 4,500 paramedics and ambulance dispatchers, HEABC and its member-employers complete the ratification process.
Paramedics and ambulance dispatchers are employees of BC Emergency Health Services, which is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority.
The deal is subject to ratification under the government’s Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate.
The B.C. government says the mandate “supports government’s commitment to improve the services people count on, make life more affordable and invest in sustainable economic growth. It encourages employers and unions to find ways to sustain, enhance and modernize the delivery of services that British Columbians rely on.”
Currently, just over 226,000 public sector employees are covered by tentative or ratified agreements reached under the mandate.
