ORNGE air ambulance paramedics hold virtual news conference to announce strike vote results

TORONTO, May 1, 2021 /CNW/ - ORNGE air ambulance paramedics will announce strike vote results on Sunday May 2, 2021, as they renew their demand that Premier Doug Ford remove the wage cap imposed by his government and allow them to negotiate fairly so they can continue serving Ontarians.

"The road to avoiding a strike vote is to respect these COVID heroes and resolve this arbitrary and unfair wage cap," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "The Premier has the power to exempt these paramedics from Bill 124 but has refused to act, even as they work around the clock transferring critical COVID-19 patients across Ontario ICUs."

What: ORNGE Paramedics virtual news conference

Who: Jerry Dias, National President, Unifor

Mark Etherington, Critical Care Flight Paramedic, District Chairperson, Unifor 2002

Don Ross, Interim President, Unifor Local 2002

When: Sunday, May 2 at 11 a.m. Eastern

Where: Streamed live on Unifor's Facebook page via Zoom.

In 2019, the Ford government enacted Bill 124, which caps public sector wage increases to one per cent a year. ORNGE land ambulance services were able to freely negotiate, as they are not covered by the legislation that unfairly restricts ORNGE air ambulance workers.

Unifor Local 2002 represents 200 paramedics who work at ORNGE, performing critical patient transfers in rural and remote communities and in times of medical crisis. The current collective agreement expired on July 31, 2020.

Journalists wishing to participate in the Q and A must register by emailing [email protected]. Upon registering, journalists will be provided a zoom link.

A link to download a broadcast quality recording of the news conference will be available after the event, upon request to [email protected].

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor National