COMMISSION DELIVERS REPORT ON B.C. AMBULANCE SERVICE

VICTORIA – The industrial inquiry commission reviewing different service delivery and operational models for the B.C. Ambulance Service, including options on an appropriate collective bargaining structure, has delivered its report to Minister of Labour Murray Coell. Commissioner Chris Trumpy’s report was received by the Minister on Jan. 15, 2010. It also examines issues relating to staff recruitment, training and retention; staff workload and occupational health and safety; deployment strategies; and total compensation for paramedics and dispatchers. The report has been provided to CUPE Local 873, the union representing B.C.’s paramedics and dispatchers, and their employer, the Emergency and Health Services Commission. “Mr. Trumpy has submitted a thoughtful and comprehensive report that will help inform the broader discussion about redesigning the B.C. Ambulance Service and the bargaining relationship between paramedics and their employer,” said Coell. “I have forwarded the report to my colleague, Minister of Health Services Kevin Falcon, who will be reviewing it.”

On Nov. 19, 2009, Trumpy was appointed as a one-person commission under the B.C. Labour Relations Code to examine the B.C. Ambulance Service. The report is non-binding, providing options for further consideration by government to help improve service delivery and the structure of collective bargaining for the Emergency and Health Services Commission and CUPE Local 873. The complete report is available at: : www.labour.gov.bc.ca/pubs/pdf/IIC_Report_Jan_10_2010.pdf.