Paramedics with Essex Windsor EMS have voted 100 per cent in favour of strike action to back demands that the service hire more workers and address the mental toll the job takes on employees.
The paramedics are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees or CUPE Local 2974, and it returns to the bargaining table with Essex Windsor EMS on February 23.
The union alleges the service is short 50 paramedics.
"Adequate coverage for Essex County's roughly 400,000 residents requires 28 ambulances during the day and 22 overnight," said the union. "Without enough paramedics, ambulances that are part of the services' approved fleet are regularly left unstaffed and unable to respond, reducing coverage across the region and leaving communities vulnerable. This problem will only intensify as the population continues to grow and age."
The EMS shortage isn't just local. It's a challenge across Ontario and is driven by recruitment and retention issues.
The union alleges that during a two-week period last September and October, the service recorded 1,481 hours of shortages.
"These conditions are not sustainable for paramedics or for patient care," said President of CUPE Local 2974, James Jovanovic. "These jobs are incredibly taxing, and we deal with trauma every day. We simply cannot provide critical care if we are short-staffed."
CUPE points to independent research conducted by the University of Windsor and the University of Toronto, which found 25 per cent of paramedics suffer post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, 28 per cent experience insomnia, and nine per cent reported suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.
"Paramedics are burning out faster than the system can replace them," added Jovanovic. "Basic recovery time is becoming harder to protect. Too many members are working extended shifts, excessive overtime, and high-acuity calls without the relief they need. It's a recipe for disaster."
CUPE Local 2479 says it has offered the employer proposals focused on recruitment, retention, and burnout prevention, along with fair wages and benefits that recognize paramedics as essential first responders.
