On Monday, E-Comm notified Gill and more than 150 full-time dispatchers that Thursday through Sunday (July 3) the agency “may have to resort” to imposing additional shifts on some workers to meet minimum staffing requirements. over the Canada Day Long Weekend.
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The agency that handles most of the province’s 911 calls is warning operators they may be forced to work overtime to make up for staff shortages as demand for emergency services is expected to surge this summer.
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The staffing shortage has become “critical,” says the union that represents 911 operators, noting that E-Comm, the agency whose operators connect 99 percent of 911 callers with police, firefighters or ambulances, has already ordered some call takers to work harder. 12-hour shifts four times in the last eight weeks.
Akash Gill, secretary of Surrey CUPE Local 8911, was working overtime on Sunday when she noticed her reader board lit up with more emergency calls than the number of operators on duty that night in the 25 provincial regions served by E -Comm.
“There was barely time to take a breath,” he recalled. “I felt guilty getting up to go to the bathroom because of calls waiting. I didn’t know if someone’s life was at stake.”
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On Monday, E-Comm notified Gill and more than 150 full-time dispatchers that Thursday through Sunday (July 3) the agency “may have to resort” to imposing additional shifts on some workers to meet minimum staffing requirements. over the Canada Day Long Weekend.
While 911 callers are used to receiving overtime offers via text, Gill said being forced to work overtime is a new trend.
“It has been happening much more frequently in recent weeks.”
The need for more 911 operators in BC became apparent last Saturday, as some callers waited up to three hours for an ambulance; he told Postmedia.
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The agency offered different numbers. According to E-Comm spokeswoman Jasmine Bradley, there was a 23% increase in 911 calls last weekend, for a total of 19,567, compared to other weekends in June. The average call was answered in 1.5 seconds, in line with the agency’s goal of answering calls in five seconds, 95 percent of the time.
“This year, funding from our law enforcement partners has enabled E-Comm to hire an additional 63 full-time dispatchers so far,” Bradley said.
However, the agency, funded by BC municipalities, is bogged down with more calls than last year, magnifying the operator shortage.
“Even if we were to staff on budget, we wouldn’t have enough people to meet the increasing call volumes we’re seeing,” Bradley said. “Some of the highest we have experienced in E-Comm’s 23 years of service.”
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The agency forecasts a 12 percent increase in emergency calls this year compared to 2021, which already saw some of the busiest days for 911 calls on record.
Gill said increased job stress has resulted in widespread burnout among industry members and a 20 percent decline in E-Comm operators in the workforce this year.
“With the current workload and compensation, the job is becoming less desirable. It’s gotten to the point where you have to give up your own well-being to make sure you answer those calls.”
The starting wage for E-Comm operators is set at $30.41 an hour.
“We have entered a critical situation,” said Donald Grant, president of CUPE Local 8911.
He said “only a fraction” of dispatchers needed to meet anticipated demand are working amid the “current fix,” forcing them to work beyond their normal four-day, 12-hour shift schedule.”
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Grant is calling E-Comm’s latest move to address the ongoing fight to employ and retain 911 operators “simply untenable.”
In an effort to help callers reach as many callers as possible in their stated service target, the agency changed internal policy in December to allow operators to disconnect with callers already transferred to BC. Emergency Health Services, the provincial agency in charge of dispatching ambulances
Previously, operators stayed on the line with local callers and monitored any changes in circumstances.
“The policy change was meant to be temporary, but I don’t see an end in sight,” said Gill, who is considered a senior E-Comm trader after four years on the job.
“Now, we transfer your call and jump off the line while you wait, listening to an automated message over and over again until the ambulance picks up.”
A 2021 report commissioned by E-Comm and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that the organization cannot succeed with an understaffed system that relies heavily on staff overtime and lack of breaks or simply abandons efforts to meet service levels. The report suggests that the current roster of 153 full-time call takers needs to be increased by 125 to meet operational demands.
