Job action escalates in BC

[tniuqs]

Oh don't jump and down just yet, things in the past were far better and saying public delivery of care is a FAIL, WRONG elections are coming and the topic of health care is the priority on everyones mind your going to see a few changes because some in present power are going to see their house of cards fold and for there very poor choices just may be applying for new positions ... like trash collectors that they are.

Ok Just compare in the US a Bipass surgery about 150 G ? in Canada about 30 G ? (correct me if I am wrong with gross numbers) and thats no HMO deciding "what the fine print is on your policy"

But with Cutbacks because of Government mismanagement the waiting lists are longer, knees, hips and angios ... this is not the fault of the system its the fault of voters allowing this to occur.

Just yesterday in Canadian Edmonton AB news, a worker denied Workman's Compensation brought this wee topic to the public attention.

http://www.google.ca/search?rlz=1C1CHMA_enCA347CA347&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=WCB+hostage+taking+CBC

Best look at the comments by the general voting public not the interviewers personal trauma pfft .... by the way no one was injured and just me but I highly doubt that anyone one would have been.

cheers

Cant change things without taking a stand ?

BCAS medics need us all right now to support them, Do you believe that they do not want to provide ALS services Province wide .... NOT listen to rock_shoes, Ambulance AL, or any other BC guys there chomping at the bit to be allowed to provide ALS care but the Campbell government not only controls the Ambulance, but the Licencing AND the Educational system too

And ps I would love to work/ live in Golden, Tofino, or Happiville ie the Charlotte's.

http://www.saveourparamedics.com/

[rock_shoes]

Personally I think the unions should have challenged the courts order, with the labour laws in mind. The governments can't just ignore laws they dont like, didn't work for Nixon and shouldn't work for them either.

Court challenges are definitely in the works. The courts work at record pace when the government wants things done then slow to a standstill when another party challenges government legislation. There is definitely more to come on that front.

I wonder how much the public understands that yes the paramedics refusing OT may seem selfish to them at first, but it BC starts losing people due to burn out faster than it can replace them it might last longer than a weekend, or a week or even a month. I wonder if they are prepared to wait for the next graduating class to have even BLS coverage again

The public is only beginning to understand how dire the situation really is. Just to add a little more fuel to the fire. Did you know that over half of the already too few ALS providers in BC are eligible to retire in the next five years?

On the note of reaching burnout here is a letter I sent in to various papers in BC about a month ago.

“Paramedics make enough already!”

How many hours a week do you work? In a recent typical two week pay period I spent 88.63 hours out on calls, 77.07 hours between calls at the station on duty, and 85.42 hours on call by pager. I am a part time paramedic working for the BC Ambulance Service. That’s right I said part-time. I’m paid a $10.80 per hour stipend to be at the station between calls on what is called a foxtrot shift. When I’m on pager at BCAS’s beck and call I’m paid $2 an hour to be available. As a PCP-IV paramedic with less than 5 years service I am paid $20.57 per hour for time spent out on calls.

There are 336 hours in a two week period. During the two week pay period I just mentioned 251.12 of those 336 hours where spent at the beck and call of my employer. That’s just shy of 75% of my time. A typical person with full time employment spends 80 hours at work every two weeks. That amounts to a little less than 24% of that person’s time.

If you where to look solely at the line on my paystub indicating “net pay” you will see that yes I do make a decent amount of money. What most conveniently seem to ignore is what I had to do to earn the figure printed on that line.

As a part-time paramedic my contractual obligation to the BC Ambulance Service is to make myself available to work 8 shifts per month. That means I should be able to cut back and seek other employment until such time as I have the seniority to bid on a full-time position. Now with the current “Essential Service Order” put in place by the BC Labour Relations Board that is no longer true. I must continue to maintain my “historical availability” or face being charged with contempt of court. At 25 years of age I’m burning out, and now I can’t even cut back my working hours without potentially facing criminal charges.

I’m a human being and I don’t know how much longer I can continue to do this for. I have one of the best jobs in the world, but the cost to my health, family life, and even social life is quickly becoming too high. We, the paramedics of British Columbia, are in an emergency of our own. Please take the time to become apprised of the issues by visiting www.saveourparamedics.com. While there you can take advantage of some of the sites features and write your MLA regarding your concerns.

Ed Peters

BC Primary Care Paramedic

BCAS medics need us all right now to support them, Do you believe that they do not want to provide ALS services Province wide .... NOT listen to rock_shoes, Ambulance AL, or any other BC guys there chomping at the bit to be allowed to provide ALS care but the Campbell government not only controls the Ambulance, but the Licencing AND the Educational system too

And ps I would love to work/ live in Golden, Tofino, or Happiville ie the Charlotte's.

http://www.saveourparamedics.com/

I really appreciate the support Squint. You get it. This isn’t just about BC. It’s about paramedics being treated fairly everywhere in Canada. Hell it isn’t even just about paramedics anymore. It’s about showing a dictator that this is still a democracy and not his own personal fiefdom.

As for heading north I think I’m more likely to go north of 60. I’ve always been fascinated by the territories and I think a change of scenery would do me good.

Ed

[Quakefire]

I'd like to point out that at the service I work for, 4 out of 8 of our paramedics were trained and employed in Alberta before moving to Saskatchewan, as well as out Operations Manager, So as much as I love the mountains, jump the border and come on over.

I have a feeling there are lots of managers looking to see whats happening in BC, if there is a precedent to cut staffing and force OT, in the long run it makes it cheaper for the employer and they will do it. Even if you dont care about BC, support them anyway before your service figures out they can own your ass too!

[tniuqs]

'Quakefire' date='23 October 2009 - 05:03 PM' timestamp='1256339033' post='227472']

I'd like to point out that at the service I work for, 4 out of 8 of our paramedics were trained and employed in Alberta before moving to Saskatchewan, as well as out Operations Manager, So as much as I love the mountains, jump the border and come on over.

Yeah no jump just a drive over the border, thing is and I am hearing through the grapevine that Sask College of new fools some how believes in the ACoP advantage, good grief more oversight by the white shirt wanna be types wanting 5 bars on their shirts ... be very aware and get involved before there is a HPA type legislation is passed ... honestly, I would LOVE to support the best CFL team ever cause the Riders ROCK!

BUT I am one of very few left here that is willing to fight the good fight (honestly I can't blame the guys that paddled down the SASK River in the winter to flatter pastures, must have been cold and damn it mobey will be next ... that said I don't have a paddle just a handle left, so I'm going to be the biggest PITA that I can possibly be, believing that one needs an effective opposition to be an effective democracy maybe when I'm dead they will understand what and where we went wrong First off personal advice don't allow First Aid Levels/ FMRs/ EMRs to somehow be become Health Care Professionals cause THEY simply ain't, and assure field and hospital endorsements.

And no offence intended to any EMR out there those that send me queries and questions daily, I support them as best I can, time to grow and commit.

http://www.emtcity.com/index.php/topic/15127-one-month-post-alberta-transition/

I have a feeling there are lots of managers looking to see whats happening in BC, if there is a precedent to cut staffing and force OT, in the long run it makes it cheaper for the employer and they will do it. Even if you dont care about BC, support them anyway before your service figures out they can own your ass too!

Disagreeing with fast tracking Forgien Trained MDS becoming Paramedics in EDMONTON in 24 weeks got me booted from another website .. and thank GOD and I mean my Christian type GOD that EMT City allows freedom of speech, bless you EMT city !

You got that right but you do have some good types east of saskabush and true Leaders in Fact ! ... yeah know, PAC wanted to study just why Paramedics lifespan was so short in the field, there is just no data available and we have no idea where they all go, become plumbers WTF ? The turn over is huge especially in other provinces, the BC CUPE provided studies proved that back injuries were a huge issue ~ 50 y/o and your toast and with 50 % of ACPS retiring in BC as rock_shoes states but those stats/ studies fell by the wayside.

Ok, so I tried but seriously had no idea where or how to start as there was no registries at the time and FOIP act was no help at all, hell ACoP has had 5 requests from myself just about my personal records and no response another FAIL HUGE, can't even contact my friends cause its against the regs, all hush hush you know and the listserver site I put motion to floor was defeated, just so we could discuss issues and give grunt on the ground suggestions .... as the US marines say if you can't communicate you cant shoot! Any question Why this motion was defeated ?

NOW and especially now with ACoP and their recent Lawyers council advice (oh so don't get me going) the financial divestiture from PAC IMHO one of the biggest FAILURES in the history of development of EMS in Canada, a measly 30 G donation that amount's to $15 CDN per ACoP member, this out of a 3 million budget ? so NO funds from AB to PAC, so zip for a federal lobbies and very serious disappointment with some of the best minds (and hearts) of EMS in our country, sorry Pierre and Eric I did try.

FF and LEOs here can retire at 55 ... looks like the rest of us like Medics have to hump stretchers till we are 65 ... good job Mr. AcoP President Renee Linssen EMR good luck with that, FAIL Again !

cheers best support CUPE and the unions cause thats the ONLY democratic freedom we have left.

[Quakefire]

So far all of our board members are at least EMT's but a large portion are ACP's with the current president also being the program coordinator for SIAST's Kelsey campus EHC program. So it nice that the college actually represents the practitioners but they have more than doubled our registration fees this year