Members of Interlake-Eastern Technical, Professional and EMS (Locals 411 and 418) will be holding information pickets in Selkirk, Gimli and Beausejour the week of July 18, 2016.
“These Locals rejected a final offer from the employer in March due to ongoing concerns over recruitment and retention and excessive workloads,” said MGEU President Michelle Gawronsky. “They have given the employer plenty of time to return to the table and resume discussions. But two months is too long and we want Manitobans to know what’s at stake here.”
She said the issues still on the table should be of great concern for Interlake-Eastern residents.
“The biggest issue for our EMS members is fatigue – paramedics working in rural areas deal with significant fatigue issues because of the large area covered and long transports of patients to hospitals. It’s simply not safe to put a medic behind the wheel with a patient in the back when they have been working without rest for 15 or 20 hours. This is a matter of public safety and affects the care that patients receive.”
Members of Local 411 ? a dedicated team of health care professionals, which includes home care case and resource coordinators, palliative care coordinators, mental health workers, dietitians, pharmacists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and many more ? say recruiting and retaining professionals to the area can be difficult. Many find themselves juggling excessive workloads because jobs are not being filled.
“Both of these groups struggle with excessive overtime due to lack of staff,” Gawronsky said. “In the case of EMS, a medic can make in excess of thirty percent more doing the same job in Winnipeg.”
With calls for a return to the table going unanswered so far, members are prepared to take strike action in order to get a fair deal and ensure an enhanced level of emergency services and patient care in the region.
“Because of the workplace conditions we’re trying to address, fewer medical professionals are willing to practice in these communities and that affects everyone,” Gawronsky said. “Small town or big city, no matter what kind of medical services you need, where you live should not prevent you from accessing these services when you need them most.”
Information pickets will be held:
Selkirk
Monday, July 18
IERHA Corporate Office ? 233A Main Street
11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Beausejour
Tuesday, July 19
Beausejour Hospital ? 151-1st Street South
11:00 am to 12:30 pm
Gimli
Wednesday, July 20
Johnson Memorial Hospital ? 120-6th Avenue
12:00 to 1:30 pm
Help send a message to the government! Tell them that where you live should not prevent you from accessing the services you need when you need them most. It’s time to return to the table and negotiate a fair deal with Interlake Eastern RHA Locals 411 and 418!