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B.C. paramedics poised to go on strike Wednesday
Last Updated: Sunday, March 29, 2009 | 4:39 PM PT
CBC News

B.C.'s paramedics and ambulance workers have filed 72-hour strike notice, putting them in a legal position walk off the job on Wednesday.

B.J. Chute, the director of public education for the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C., said the public should not be alarmed.

"The public really need not worry that an ambulance won't be there should they have some sort of life-threatening condition that requires them to call upon paramedics," he said.

"In fact, what they may notice is that some of the ambulances, perhaps, might be staffed with excluded management staff instead of the regular paramedics they are used to seeing on the street."

Chute said little about what striking paramedics would do should they walk off the job.

"I would suspect that the public see some of the traditional strike methods used by unions throughout this province to bear some pressure on the politicians to force the ambulance service to come back to the bargaining table," Chute said.

The four main issues on which paramedics and the province disagree, he said, are wages, the length of the next contract, a lack of ambulances and compensation for stand-by paramedics.

The province has offered a three per cent wage hike in a one-year contract, while paramedics are holding out for more than four per cent in each year of a four-year deal.

The union argues the wages of paramedics have fallen behind those of other emergency services in B.C. and other paramedics across the country.

B.C. Labour Minister Iain Black said a strike is "inevitable," and the province election campaign beginning April 14 could affect negotiations.

Black said the province is "examining" its options, but he wouldn't be specific or confirm whether the government is considering back-to-work legislation.

If a strike does go ahead, the law requires a minimum level of ambulance service be maintained.