Comments on: Paramedic Dispute FAR From Over

By: John T

John T — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:55:39 +0000

The legislation is illegal. Bill 29 was struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada. Governments cannot interfere in bargaining.

Paramedics should sue immediately. The BC Government is violating their Charter Rights.

Why hasn’t a BC Supreme and Federal Challenge been initiated.

It’s clear that the BC Government is violating rights. Now, they need to be held to account for their illegal legislation.

By: Kam Lee

Kam Lee — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:09:01 +0000

The props are too big. The replacements are made in Russia, and they are about two years away. They will keep them out of service as much as they can. They cost more to run. Do much damage to their docks, as well as peoples properties. Not a wise imvestment. They msm do not like to talk bad about them, orders you know.

By: Kam Lee

Kam Lee — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:05:58 +0000

I’m not sure of the four out of seven Harv, but whenever I am there, so are they it seems.

By: Henri Paul

Henri Paul — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:23:05 +0000

Take no enemies.

The ones that should suffer from lack of ambulance service!!

The two constituency’s that voted in Campbell and Falcon……..

Then watch the ass kissing.

By: Kam Lee

Kam Lee — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:37:54 +0000

‘(Response: Seems to me a lot of what you say here is opinion, not proven scientific fact … esp re C-class ferriese sitting in dock four days out of seven every week.’

Harv, BC Ferries are one of my accounts. The German-built lemons are benched lots. I am having a heck of a time getting parts, everything has to be machined. Very expensive. That chap made some good points on their lack of reliability. They goofed! They could have been manufactured here. Dollars would be spent here, jobs, etc. Also the CEO of BC Ferries, is very over paid.

(Response: Good info. But are they really out four days out of seven??? Amazing this has not been reported, if they are. h..o)

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:15:14 +0000

Just something else I think should be pointed out. Since beinglegislated back to work, and the strike officially over, I havereceived letters from 10 paramedics who act as preceptors forparamedic students looking to graduate from their college program.The letters are all resignation letters. I am sure there are plentymore resigning but at least 10 have in the few days since beinglegislated back. This is not union direction or ogranized job actionin any form, this is a group of paramedics who take on the additionalresponsibility (paid $1.50 on top of their wages to do it) ofpromoting the service, and helping students bridge the gap fromclassroom learning to real life learning. Reading all these lettersthere is one common reason: the preceptors in good conscience can nolonger promote or try to bring in paramedics into an ambulance servicethat they no longer believe in, and feel no respect from. This is oneof many side effects of the government’s handling of the strike, andI’m sure you’ll see more “reactions” as the Olympics draw near. Just a thought…

(Response: That’s exactly the type of pressure that might convince management they might be able to get the government to force an end to the strike, but they will NEVER get a healthy working setup until they respond with a fair deal to the paramedics concerns. h..o)

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:13:53 +0000

Last week I very attentively watched my democratic and human rights>> taken away from me by our current Liberal government. As insulted as>> I was at the actual process, being absolutely powerless as I watched a>> bunch of men and women in suits decide what my future shall be, even>> more appalling was the fact that the government used lies, fear, and>> manipulation to get what they want. Last time I checked, the whole>> idea behind democracy is that we vote in the leaders who will>> represent our needs. By voting them into parliament, they are meant>> to stand up and fight for what their constituents demand of them.>> MLAs work for us. This is not what I saw during the passing of Bill>> 21, known as the Ambulance Services Collective Agreement Act (an>> oxymoron of a title if I’ve ever heard one). The public opinion was>> clear, people supported paramedics. People were against Bill 21. The>> evidence was widespread, from the many letters and emails sent to all>> MLAs, to the many petitions filled out and submitted during the>> debates, to the many letter to the editors printed across the>> province, to the many online forums and other media sites where people>> voiced their opinions. The people did not want Bill 21. The>> government ignored them. Watching the debate, knowing that MLAs have>> a mandate to represent their constituents, what I saw was silence. No>> Liberal MLA (particularly those in rural ridings) stood up to speak>> for their constituents. They were all silenced. More important then>> to represent their ridings is the fact that Mr. Campbell and Mr.>> Falcon wanted this Bill to pass and that they were to remain silent so>> it could be pushed through as quickly as possible. I think in total>> three Ministers defended the Bill and all they did was literally>> repeat what was already out there in all the newspapers. The>> government’s own political agenda has yet again trumped the demands of>> their employer – you, the taxpayer. This is evident with their lies>> about the HST, pouring money into the Olympics by stripping various>> essential services, and even going as far as gagging anyone from>> expressing an anti-Liberal opinion during the elections.>>>> Lets look at the so-called reasons for this Bill. First Mr. Falcon>> says that after seven months of “failed negotiations”, something had>> to be done. The problem with that statement is that there were no>> negotiations. For the past seven months, the government has>> repeatedly handed paramedics the exact same offer. In fact, they even>> forgot to change the date on it because they used the same piece of>> paper as back in the spring (guess they are trying to cut costs).>> Pushing the same offer isn’t negotiating – it’s dictating. The union>> considerably lowered its demands to within 1.2% of an increase, and>> some variation of what the Independent Industrial Commissioner would>> investigate within BCAS. That’s a very narrow gap to bridge. The>> reason why that gap was never bridged was because still the government>> wouldn’t budge from their offer back in the spring. One way or the>> other, they were determined to make us take it. Despite this, at one>> point there was significant progress in addressing many issues. Both>> sides worked hard and laid out important framework on which to improve>> BCAS. However, when Mr. Falcon took over as Minister of Health, he>> threw out that progress. When the union pleaded with him to appoint>> an independent arbitrator, and help settle the strike, he refused. He>> cited that he wasn’t going to get involved. Truth is he already got>> involved. He stepped in, flexed his muscles, destroyed everything we>> worked towards, and stepped out again. Mr. Falcon justifies this as>> saying it was only “exploratory talks”. Fair enough, but that is>> where progress starts. It was a foundation on which to build upon.>> Instead Mr. Falcon destroyed that, and told us to “go back” to the>> negotiating table. Ultimately the union agreed to the government’s>> request to take their offer to the vote. It was the belief of their>> chief negotiator, Mr. Lee Doney, that the union executive wasn’t>> representing the membership, and that this “generous” offer would be>> accepted. However as the voting took place, it got announced we were>> being forced the contract we were voting on. Obviously they weren’t>> confident that their offer would be accepted.>>>> The primary reason of H1N1 is just a simple bullying tactic. The>> government used the over-hyped fear of the swine flu to scare people>> into believing this legislation was necessary. Apparently we are so>> important to combating the H1N1, as frontline healthcare workers, yet>> we are denied access to the one defense which allows us to safely help>> people: the vaccine! As usual, Mr. Falcon deflected this criticism by>> deflecting to the Medical Director, saying it was his decision. As>> for his logic that we needed to be at peak efficiency, well he>> should’ve let us remain on strike. The Essential Service Order has>> required paramedics to work above and beyond what the service levels>> were at prior to the strike. There were actually more cars staffed>> during the strike then when we weren’t. This speaks volumes to the>> holes in the service. By legislating us back, and that legislation>> having nothing in it that addresses the lack of staffing issue, things>> will just go back to the way they were before. Actually, they will be>> worse. Prior to the strike, I drove hours out of my community to help>> fill holes in under-staffed stations. Yes, I got paid for it, but it>> came at the cost of being with my family. I felt an ethical>> obligation to do what I could to help the lack of staffing. After>> watching my established rights as a person being taken away from me, I>> no longer feel I should continue to put myself out of my way for an>> employer that only bullies me and tramples on me. This is a popular>> feeling among paramedics. The government will undoubtedly claim this>> is “organized union illegal job action” but that is not the case. It>> is simple as this: it’s about an employer continuing to treat its>> employees with contempt. Any employer should know that the more you>> beat down on your workers, the less productivity you will get from>> them. I’ve known this since my first job at Tim Hortons, yet the>> Liberals still can’t grasp this concept.>>>> It was so comforting to see Mr. Falcon display such a concern over>> BCAS managers having to work “excessive” hours during the strike, and>> seeking to provide them some down time. My question is why has the>> government refused to extend the same courtesy to paramedics and>> dispatchers? For years paramedics have been doing overtime to fill>> the holes in the service, and the government responds by ignoring it.>> In the middle of September, Mr. Lee Doney announced to the province>> that BCAS had no staffing challenges, and that there were “plenty” of>> people to replace paramedics. Well on Sept 19 he was proven wrong.>> Simply by refusing overtime shifts, cars went down all over the>> province. So much so that BCAS had to issue an advisory encouraging>> the public to not call an ambulance unless necessary. This was not>> the result of dropping shifts, as Doney claims, it was simply because>> paramedics refused to accept overtime shifts. Mr. Falcon has>> repeatedly quoted this event as one of the catalysts of Bill 21, but>> funny he leaves out the details surrounding it. Political posturing>> at its best.>>>> Lets face it, there was one reason only for this legislation: the>> Olympics. The leaked VANOC memo is the perfect evidence. The memo>> specifically advises the government that ambulance planning for the>> Olympics is three months past schedule, and that something has to be>> done to guarantee paramedic coverage, or else contingency plans would>> have to be investigated. The memo specifically mentions back-to-work>> legislation as a resolution. Funny that Mr. Falcon never mentioned>> this as a reason. That is until he was pushed about it after the memo>> was made public. All of a sudden it was a “secondary reason”. This>> is also a lie. In his defense, Mr. Falcon stated that the Olympics>> were covered under essential services so manning the Olympics wasn’t a>> real concern. This is another lie, the VANOC memo specifically states>> “The 2010 Games (including planning) have not been designated as>> essential services and we are thus unable to engage any union members.>> Our venue emergency planning is now 3 months behind schedule due to>> this and has reached a critical stage.” Mr. Falcon has even go on to>> suggest he’s never seen this memo prior to the Bill 21 reading, and>> hinted it may in fact be a fabrication. I find that funny when VANOC>> issues their own press release acknowledging the memo, and defended>> it.>>>> Bottom line, the Liberals lied. They used deceit, fear, and>> manipulation to get what they want. The community that I serve has>> had an over 80% increase in call volume over the past 10 years. How>> many ambulances have been added to address that significant shortfall:>> none! In fact, there is one less car on the road in my community then>> back in the 1990s, despite the volume spiking up so much. What does>> Bill 21 do to address this issue? This is not a unique issue in BC.>> What does Bill 21 do to address the fact that BCAS is at is lowest>> morale since the service was created? What does Bill 21 do to address>> the fact that when you factor in 100% of paramedics, we are the lowest>> paid service in the country? Even more insulting is that Mr. Falcon>> claims he will still appoint an IIC to review areas of the service,>> but he leaves out two very important details. First, he is going to>> have the Minister of Labour “appoint” one. In other words, the>> government gets to choose who it will be. This takes the whole>> concept of independent away. This is eerily familiar to Mr. Doney and>> Mr. Campbell lining up the Labour Relations Board with their buddies,>> which has equated to most labour rulings in their favour, whether>> legal or not. Second, they are leaving out two significant issues>> that paramedics consider to be vital to be looked at. The first is>> employee compensation. The government is quick to boast about>> paramedic wages, but they leave out they come to their totals by>> factoring in those who have been in the service many years, and are>> full-time only. This represents a significant minority. Even more a>> minority are the ALS wages they so quickly boast about. It is obvious>> the government doesn’t want revealed to the public eye the truth>> behind employee wages, benefits, etc. The second issue management>> structure and responsibilities. By including this, the IIC could look>> at how the service is run at the administrative and management level,>> and they refuse to have that included. Perhaps they have something to>> hide. BCAS is hardly a transparent service.>>>> To say the strike is over is accurate, but to say the dispute is over>> is just not true. I have re-evaluated my priorities, and my family>> comes out on top. I will be reducing the work I do, and if I have to>> seek employment elsewhere. I have already begun applying to the>> private sector, and to paramedic services outside of BC. Too many>> paramedics like myself have put up with the mistreatment that the>> government provides, and have realized that there are other options.>> I am surely not the only one to conclude this.>>>> Let me ask you something. VANOC has already stated they require 100>> paramedics per day to staff the Olympics, with at least another 70 per>> day to make up for their absences from the lower mainland. So where>> is the supply going to come from? What plan does the government have>> in place to make sure no communities suffer while the Olympics take up>> so much of our already under-staffed resources? Go ask your MLA what>> assurances they can offer you make sure your local ambulance coverage>> doesn’t suffer. At the same time, ask them what Bill 21 does to>> address your community’s needs. I’m willing to bet you won’t get a>> unique answer – only the same verbatim spoken out during the passing>> of this atrocious law. I guess this is what the Liberals meant when>> they said they are working towards a better BC.>>

By: RJW

RJW — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:46:40 +0000

Thank you, I have never been been so unhappy in my life as I
find myself now. I am a paramedic in BC and have been for almost
eight years. I gave up a good paying career to help the people
of the this province. I have struggled and made my family
sacrifice for that honor and priveledge. After the passing of
bill 21 my heart was broke and the passion gone. I truly wish
that all citizens were able to have access to unedited news as
you provide and not this phony BS that this government and
canwest produce.It would be such a better province. I am torn
now as to whether or not I move on to something else or try and
change this broken system . Unfortunately for me and the rest I
will have to find something different. Your support has been
encouraging for me as well i’m sure as others and I thank you.

By: Jean

Jean — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:20:20 +0000

h/o
That got sent while I was re-reading it and some dumb new download that I have to keep telling it restart later made it send before I was finished.
I’m not sure about that blogger’s number ‘one billion dollars worth of work’, I’ve heard over a half billion but I really only rely on comments on the Tyee, your blog, Laila’s blogs or ones I know are legit. Can’t read it in the papers or see it on TV…gotta go somewhere.

By: Jean

Jean — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:11:33 +0000

Hi h.o
I can refer you to some info I got off the i-net re the fast ferries. I hate to say I am almost computer illerate and don’t know how to send the stuff to you as I only have your www. and not an email address. July 29/09 a blogger “let’s be More honest” wrote to vancouversun.com – The German built ferries sent one billion dollars worth of work, and all the taxes accruing from that work out of BC to the only non-union shop in Germany for reasons of ideological spite. It also killed a budding BC industry, aluminum shipbuilding. The new German boats spend an amazing amount of time in dock, and are pigs for maintenance….then he goes on to complain about more BCL BS. (My comments Campbell also did not allow BC to bid on them).
Also refer to The Tyee e-newsletter “Blasted Pay, Conflict at top of B.C. Ferries: Ministry Report by Andrew McLeod, Nov. 7/09.
Also refer to The Tyee “Hahn attacks Tyee’s B.C. Ferries ‘gas guzzlers’ story, Andrew McLeod, Jan 20/09 and if you follow all the highlighted sites as you go there is more info.
I also talked to a guy who calls himself Black Coal on one of the poker sites I go to and he lives on the Island and works for B.C. Ferries and he told me a lot of this info but he really wasn’t supposed to be talking about it. (Gotta watch PAB and gags!) My comment.
I have also read lots of other info too numerous to go into all of it lots I can’t remember where I read it but was a lot was on The Tyee.
Maybe Andrew McLeod would be a good person to ask about it or the NDP transportation critic. You can also google what I did “History BC Liberals c-class ferries” but it is difficult as usual to find out about the Libs’ fiascos.
I would love to see a blog going here too! Good Luck and happy reading, Love your stuff too.
It was late tonight when I saw your Response to me and it’s now 4:06 am at my house but I could try to find out or remember other places I got the info tomorrow….but….I know you know more people and places to than I do. If you come up any new stuff on the ferries. I would still really like to know where the 3 of them were on the last weekend when our good old wooden Spirit broke down and ruined hundreds of peoples’ long weekend plans and Hahn didn’t have a backup??!