Wednesday the ads began to appear on websites, in businesses in Port aux Basques and on Thursday the ads began appearing in newspapers.
On Aug. 2 there were 11 paramedics and emergency medical responders who were either fired or quit depending on the side of the dispute you hear. Management claims the workers quit, while the workers believe they were fired.
Steve Carey, an owner of the service, said the ads were designed to augment staff. The company will train emergency medical responders in an 80-hour course and pay $14 an hour at 40 hours a week. Paramedics will earn $19 an hour for 40 hours. Mackenzie’s want as many residents of the Port aux Basques area to fill the vacancies.
“We ’re advertising for additional staff,” Mr. Carey said. “ We want this organization completely staffed and functional with as many employees from Port aux Basques as we can get.”
The course materials for the responder course is already on site and an instructor has been lined up. Mr. Carey said the focus on recruiting is paramedics. He wants 100 per cent coverage — a paramedic for every shift on every ambulance.
According to Mr. Carey, six paramedics have already submitted their paperwork, and several Port aux Basques residents are interested in receiving training. Mr. Carey said the company is purchasing homes in Port aux Basques so workers will have a place to stay.
In the meantime, he said the service is meeting the calls. There were four calls Wednesday morning — three emergencies and one routine transportation — and all were answered, Mr. Carey said.
“We have ambulances sitting by the door right now, waiting,” he said. He said response times are better than ever, and people who call for an ambulance are noting the speed in which the ambulance arrives.
In a previous story, Port aux Basques Mayor Brian Button said he witnessed a delay of 20 to 25 minutes from the time an ambulance was called until it arrived on the scene at the Bruce II Sports Centre. Mr. Carey said in that case, those in distress called a number for search and rescue. The delay was caused in the time it took to reroute the call.
Andrew Parsons doesn’t see an end in sight for the dispute between Mackenzie’s Ambulance and its 11 former workers. The lawyer for the workers, who maintain they were fired, said as of Wednesday afternoon it looked like the parties were at an impasse.
He’s pessimistic a deal will be reached, but says he’s still available to talk.
Parson’s believed a deal was close Friday afternoon, and thought a deal could have been reached Tuesday, but on Wednesday the camps seemed farther apart than ever.
“Our people are always willing to come to the table,” Parsons said. “This is not a case of people who are on strike. This is a case of people who have been fired and want to come back to work, and therefore are always willing to figure it out. The problem is we haven’t been presented with anything different from the start.”
Tuesday, he said, it became clear using Employment Insurance to supplement the wages of the ambulance attendants was not possible. That event took out a basic part of the deal that was so close Friday and Tuesday.
“The problem here is money,” Parsons said. “There’s been no change in the status. It’s still the same old back and forth with no resolution.”
Kirby Mauger, a paramedic who worked for the service, said the former employees have filed claims for Employment Insurance.
He believes records of employment will be coming from the employer soon, a form that is required in applying for Employment Insurance.
The fact ads were put out for positions at the service bothers him.
“We’re going to wait and see what happens out of this,” Mr. Mauger said.
Meanwhile Leonard Payne, another of the four owners of the business, said he thought there was a deal twice and now he’s not optimistic a consensus can be reached.
He had a meeting set with Parsons Wednesday evening to see what could be done, but he wasn’t optimistic.
“I thought Friday there was a deal and Tuesday,” Mr. Payne said. “Some issues came up that we’re working on. Until we get it settled, I’d rather keep it out of the media because we are working on it.
“We’re drawing up more schedules now to see if we’ll get anything to suit them.”
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