Paramedics in Montreal speaking out against forced overtime

The union representing paramedics in Montreal is speaking out against new measures from the provincial government that impose more overtime on their members.

“This situation is the worst one that we have ever seen. And I mean, the consequences is the paramedics they are, they quit and they go and they work somewhere else,” said Claude Lamarche, President of Montreal Paramedic Union, CSN.

The prehospital sector of the CSN union says that as of December 12, paramedics in Montreal are obligated to take new emergency calls while driving their ambulances back to their post at the end of their shift after their last call which never was the case before. 

“In Montreal, it’s particularly severe because you can imagine the number, the sheer number of calls they have in Montreal,” said Mathieu Lacombe, the vice president of information at Montérégie Paramedics Union, CSN.

“When they are on the other side of the island and they have to cross all the island to get back to the post, you can imagine there will always be an urgent call between them and their post.”

Because of this new measure, the union says many of their members are now having to work more overtime causing major disruptions, especially for paramedics who have children – who now are arriving late to pick up their kids at daycare, for example.

“This plan is actually causing a lot of frustration and consequences. We have already a lady, a paramedic, a young mother that she quit last week and she cried and she said, I don’t have any choice, I have to quit and take care of my family. So we were expecting that and it’s actually a truth,” said Lamarche.  

The union for paramedics says this measure was not negotiated and wants it overturned by the Quebec government. They add that more ambulances and more paramedics are needed to resolve this issue. 

“In Montreal, they have a severe problem. They can’t keep their paramedics, paramedics are leaving. So getting more ambulances is not the only thing to do because you need to have paramedics to put them on the ambulance,” said Lacombe. 

CityNews Montreal reached out to Quebec’s health minister’s office for a comment but did not hear back at this time.

“We hope the best for the next weeks and we hope that we’re gonna have a solution to keep our paramedic and having a good service for the population too,” said Lamarche.