Vancouver – A Joint statement from Health Employers Association of BC and the Ambulance Paramedics & Ambulance Dispatchers Bargaining Association:
Late on January 6, HEABC and the Ambulance Paramedics & Ambulance Dispatchers Bargaining Association (APADBA) reached a tentative collective agreement under the government of BC’s Shared Recovery Mandate with the assistance of mediator Vince Ready.
The Parties will finalize details over the next week.
Out of respect for the ratification process, which requires both parties to take the tentative agreement back to their respective members to ensure broad-based support, the Parties have committed to keeping the details of the tentative agreement confidential and will not be releasing any details publicly at this time. Further details will be released once the tentative Agreement has been ratified.
Both sides of the table have expressed their appreciation to Mr. Ready and for the respectful tone of these negotiations in being able to reach an agreement that supports patient care and addresses the priorities of both parties and the Ministry of Health.
Tony Clifford, President of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC (@APBC873) calls this “the best deal he has seen in at least 10 to 15 years.”
Statement from the Province:
The Health Employers Association of BC has reached a tentative agreement with members of the Ambulance Paramedics & Ambulance Dispatchers Bargaining Association (APADBA) under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
APADBA represents approximately 5,000 paramedics and ambulance dispatchers in B.C. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 873 represent the employees in the ambulance service. Paramedics and ambulance dispatchers are employees of BC Emergency Health Services, which is part of Provincial Health Services Authority.
Negotiations under the Shared Recovery Mandate support government’s key priorities to improve public services and the health-care system, while supporting the province’s continued economic recovery for all.
Details about the agreement will be available after the ratification process for the union members and the health employers is complete.
More than 500,000 people work throughout the provincial public sector in the core public service, at Crown corporations, in health, community social services, kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education and at post-secondary institutions and research universities.
Of those people, approximately 393,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.
To learn about public sector bargaining in B.C., visit: www.gov.bc.ca/psecbargaining
