Paramedics in Montreal and Laval to protest against overwork on Monday

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The Urgences-santé paramedics union, which covers the Montreal and Laval regions, will apply pressure tactics on Monday to protest against working conditions it considers unacceptable.

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“On Monday, the watchword will be to just let the paramedics who are already tired from COVID and all that, but especially from being overworked, go eat,” interim union president Claude Lamarche said in a statement. a telephone interview.

He said this will not affect the general population. “It doesn’t allow a full meal break,” he said, “because we always need to maximize service to the population, but it will still allow a longer break than what employers recommend, which is half an hour. ”

Lamarche said meals are often shortened, canceled or have to be “eaten in traffic” in an ambulance that has just transported a patient and is “so not very clean.”

“No paramedic will refuse to make a call, even if it’s been three hours since they’ve been waiting for their lunch break,” he said.

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However, Lamarche opposes the normalization of paramedics not having breaks due to low-priority tasks.

Urgences-santé spokesman Stéphane Smith called on the parties to “work together” to find solutions to the workload caused by the shortage of workers.

Workers are “exhausted,” Lamarche said. “People are jumping ship right now… it’s very concerning.”

He criticized the regular use of compulsory overtime when it should be reserved for emergency situations. This creates a vicious cycle, she said, where workers “become less available (for extra shifts) so they can take days off.”

He also said that less than 50 percent of paramedics work night shifts: “We need backup, we need backup.”

Smith confirmed that this has happened several times, especially on weekend nights, and that managers who have the necessary training are required to serve shifts in the field.

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“In the last year, there has been almost no hiring,” he said. “Demand is high and with the number of employees falling, there are consequences for the workers who are here now.”

Smith said part of the blame for the recruiting difficulties lies with the union. One of the pressure tactics used during last year’s contract negotiations was not to take trainees.

The union says several other employers were accepting students, so they shouldn’t have had a hard time getting their degrees.

The union asks for incentives, in particular monetary, to attract more workers or make additional hours attractive.

“We are not competitive in the market,” said Lamarche, making a comparison with the private sector, which serves other regions.

Urgences-santé declined to rule on this complaint due to the existence of an agreement in principle that has not yet been signed or made public.

Smith said paramedics should be able to send patients to places other than emergency rooms that might better meet their needs. Currently, she said, paramedics have to take all patients to emergency rooms, which can be a waste of time.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé announced last month that his ministry was seeking to implement measures to that effect.