Sometimes a life is on the line... with an EMR at the other end
Monday, April 28, 2008
An emergency medical responder (EMR) is a health professional who gives telephone support to people who call for help after an accident, murder, an overdose or a suicide attempt. Before the ambulance arrives, we are the people who take as much information as possible, and reassure the caller, sometimes with instructions on how to position the victim, free the airways, give mouth-to-mouth or cardiac massage. It’s tougher than you can imagine.
Every day and every night, we are in contact with people who are panicked and desperate, who may have just lost a friend, a father or a sister. The work is gruelling, the job demands tremendous personal strength, because it is not easy to be confronted with tragedy, day after day. You must have first-aid training, be bilingual and take a six-week course before being hired.
An EMR is also a professional whose true value is not rewarded. The starting salary is $15.12 an hour, and it will take you ten years to reach the top salary of $19.82! Now we are asking for parity with City of Montreal 9-1-1 dispatchers, who earn 32% more than we do. It is a simple matter of fairness, of equal pay for equal work. And the comparison with 9-1-1 workers is not nearly as bad as with EMR workers in other major Canadian cities. The starting salary for an EMR is nearly $21 an hour in Calgary, $23 in Vancouver, and $30 in Toronto — 60% higher than in Montreal. It’s simply unacceptable.
We have been without a contract since 2003. We have had more than 45 bargaining sessions with the employer, but the Minister of Health has turned a deaf ear and refuses to budge and give us the wage increase we deserve. Send him a message that the EMRs should be given the respect and the remuneration that their work merits! Parity for Urgences-santé EMRs!
Thank you for your support.
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To send an email to Yves Bolduc, minister of Health and Social Services, fill out this form. |
Here the text of the letter: To Mr. Yves Bolduc I am asking you today to take a simple action: recognize the value of the work of the Urgences-santé emergency medical responders (EMRs). Working without a contract since 2003, theses employees deserve parity with City of Montreal 9-1-1 dispatchers. The current salary of EMRs is clearly inadequate and does not reflect the demands of the job, the level of training, or the vital role of their function in dealing with road accidents and various other dramatic events. A significant salary increase is in order. These men and women have shown their unfailing commitment. They deserve our respect and consideration. Parity for Urgences-santé EMRs! Your Name |