THUNDER BAY — Superior North EMS paramedics working in the City of Thunder Bay have received a raise, but it's nowhere close to what their union feels they deserve.
Details of an agreement ratified by city council last month have now been confirmed by Kyle Stamler, vice-president of health care for Unifor Local 39-11 which represents 110 paramedics.
The three-year deal is retroactive to April 1, 2024 and provides for pay increases of 3.5 per cent in each of the first two years, and 3.0 per cent in the final year.
Stamler said 80 per cent of the members of the local ratified the contract, in contrast to previous collective agreements that were approved by 98 per cent or more of the membership.
"That says a couple of things. One, that members definitely were hoping for a better deal, as all of us were. But getting the contract ratified also signifies there is confidence in the bargaining unit and our members understood that this wasn't quite the appropriate time to seek arbitration or to do strike action."
Earlier this year, the union started a billboard campaign highlighting the significant wage disparity between paramedics and other frontline emergency services personnel.
At the time, they were earning more than seven dollars an hour less than firefighters, and almost 11 dollars an hour less than Thunder Bay police officers.
Stamler said the new collective agreement still leaves them well short of the other two services, and added that ambulance dispatchers – who are employed by the province and belong to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union – have received "a very large arbitrated award, and are currently earning more money than our frontline paramedics."
"It's a great contract for them. They deserve every penny that they get. It's a very challenging job. Our members are sort of asking why it is that the city doesn't feel they're worth the same."
He said the city has been put on notice that in the next round of bargaining, Superior North EMS paramedics will ask for a wage hike that puts them more in line with the other services.
But Shane Muir, chief of Superior North EMS, said the new collective agreement "places our city paramedics on the forefront of paramedic services across the province."
Muir also said the contract includes enhancements to benefits, and that the service is "committed to supporting our paramedics with mental health and wellness through improved initiatives."
Details of those initiatives were not provided in a statement submitted to Newswatch.