Essex County paramedics are holding information pickets throughout the region to notify the public of the Council’s continued unwillingness to stabilize ambulance services in the region.

The paramedics are represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 1.on. Their contract negotiations with their employer, Sun Parlour Ambulance Services – Essex Division, have been on indefinite hold since Mar. 2006 as the council delays its decision to consolidate the delivery of paramedic services in the area.

“Our contract negotiations have gone no where since last March. Sun Parlour Ambulance Services and the County cannot allow this situation to continue,” said Ian Nash, a Sun Parlour paramedic and SEIU chief steward.

“Last September paramedics held information pickets to let the public know that the County must resolve the turmoil it created in this critical public service – and yet nothing has been done six months on and the situation is getting worse,” Nash says.

The paramedics will renew their public information pickets, Tues, Mar. 20, in Tecumseh.

The paramedics will highlight the confusion caused by the varying employment contracts between the four regional EMS providers, divergent health and safety standards from one provider to another, as well as duplicated processes that are inefficient and a waste of taxpayer money.

“The mess that the County has created has to be cleaned up. Council has to decide how it is going to move forward with its EMS services. Lives could be at stake,” Nash says.

SEIU Local 1.on represents 42,000 health care workers throughout Ontario. SEIU Canada represents 95,000 workers across Canada.

WHO:      Ian Nash (Paramedic, Sun Parlour Ambulance Services – Essex Division), Chief Steward, SEIU Local 1.on

WHAT:     Public Information Picket by Paramedics

WHEN:     Tues, Mar. 20, 2007, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE:   Tecumseh Ambulance, 12014 Tecumseh Road East, Tecumseh, Ontario