I am not a postal worker: March 2001

My name is Michel Gravel and I'm a registered Paramedic and Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) with Emergency Medical Care, Inc. (EMC) in Bedford, Nova Scotia. I'm also a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

The call centre where I work dispatches for all emergency and non-emergency medical calls for the entire province of Nova Scotia, about 400 calls every day. We are the only facility in Canada to handle an entire province. We are responsible for the largest dispatch area in North America, and the seventh largest in the world.

I've been working for EMC since May 1997, and until we ratified our first collective agreement December 17, 2000, I hadn't had a raise in my whole time with the company. Wages were a big part of what prompted the call takers and dispatchers at EMC to begin organizing.

Our road to joining the postal workers began with a wrong number. Originally we were trying to reach a different union, but accidentally dialled the local CUPW number instead. We were familiar with CUPW's excellent reputation, and after meeting with CUPW representatives, we were so impressed that we decided to stay with the union. That was in 1998.

It was a long hard fight to get our first collective agreement. The organizing drive was interrupted in 1999 when EMC bought the facilities from its predecessor. It took long hours of negotiations and the threat of a strike to negotiate a collective agreement that the members could support.

There were two key issues at stake in these negotiations, wage parity with other call takers and dispatchers across Canada and inclusion of casual workers in the bargaining unit. Although we had fairly good health benefits at EMC, our wages were drastically out of step with other paramedical staff across the country. While our call takers earned about $24,000 a year, the national average was $39,000. This collective agreement will bring our wages up to $35,000 in the first year, with another increase to bring us into line with the national average at about $40,000 in the second year. We still lag behind some provinces with smaller dispatch areas, like British Columbia where dispatchers can earn $56,000, but this is work for future negotiations.

The issue of including casual workers in the bargaining unit was resolved by creating a temporary pool. When casuals and part timers have worked 312 hours in a 26 week period they are included in the pool. If they remain in the temp pool for six months they are included in the bargaining unit; after one year, they are eligible for the wage increases in the collective agreement.

Work in the call centre can be stressful. Although we don't suffer physical strain on the job, mental pressure can build up. For our call takers, handling cardiac arrests and other major medical emergencies is a routine part of the job. For dispatchers like me, what adds pressure to an already high stress environment is cutbacks to the health care budget which gives us fewer ambulances to work with. Trying to stretch limited resources to cover the emergency needs of an entire province is taxing.

I am proud to be a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and look forward to continuing the struggle with my union brothers and sisters in the future.

In Solidarity,
Michel Gravel
EMC Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Nova Local