Corner Brook -
About a dozen paramedics and emergency medical responders gathered in a show of strength at Western Memorial Regional Hospital Friday afternoon.
The province's private paramedics and emergency medical responders walked off the job at 4 p.m. because there is no contract between the province's ambulance operators and government. Private paramedics haven't had a raise in a year and a half - they're making about $10 an hour less than their hospital-based counterparts.
That has the ambulance workers upset enough to stop performing routine transfers.
The group will still provide emergency medical services, but most private services across the province won't be moving patients between institutions, taking people home from hospital or taking people to doctor appointments.
Kirk Yetman, a paramedic at Reliable Ambulance, helped organize the protest.
He's disappointed nothing could be done in the 19 months the contract has been out.
"This started with government; this ends with government," Yetman said. "We don't want to be doing this and we don't want to inconvenience the public, but the government is not willing to move on everything, so this is a last resort. With everything with the government, this is where it comes to."
Paramedic Iris Park hopes after a few days, the province will realize what's at stake.
"I'm disappointed they didn't sign the contract, but I didn't expect it," Park said. "They've given us the run-around this long. It wasn't a real big surprise."
Justin Heuving, also a paramedic, said the protest was about more than just the $10 an hour that separates him and his coworkers from his hospital-based counterparts. He said the paid overtime, days off for time owed and other benefits add to the problem.
"The main thing is respect," Heuving said. "A while back the nurses got their raise, which I feel they're very much entitled to. It put them at parity with nurses in other Atlantic provinces. We're not even asking for that much and we're still caught in limbo."
Finance Minister Tom Marshall said bargaining with the private ambulance operators is not a classic labour negotiation.
Neither the operators nor the paramedics are classed as employees of the government but instead a negotiation contract for a service provided.
Marshall said government's offer includes a 35 per cent hike in funding, including money for a raise for the paramedics. What's holding up the contract, he said, is the operators want a clause for a buyout if government should chose to go a different way with providing the service.
If government takes over the services, or if it goes with a province-wide or regional contracts the current ambulance operators want their compensation outlined in the contract, Marshall said.
The minister said the timing of the demonstration is unfortunate.
"We're extremely disappointed the private ambulance operators have chosen to withdraw some services at this particular time when the province is in the middle of an H1N1 pandemic," Marshall said. "Their actions today will add stress to the system.
"The Department of Health and regional health authorities have to make contingency plans to provide alternate means of delivering the services, which are not now being provided by the private ambulance operators.
"Their actions today are in my view, irresponsible."
