Quebec paramedics call for better pay amid widespread stress, exhaustion

Montreal -

On the heels of a major daycare-worker strike, Quebec paramedics say they’ve been without a collective agreement since April, 2020. After more than a year and a half, they’re getting ready to step up pressure tactics.

They say they’re paid less than nurses, police officers and firemen, and that needs to change –- just one of their grievances brought up Sunday at a Place des Festivals demonstration.

Paramedics held the event to give the public a backstage view of their job, which they say is anything but glamourous.

The union says a poll of paramedics found more than half are considering leaving the profession because the job has become too taxing.

“Honestly, (we’re) really exhausted,” said paramedic Sabastien Pothier. “We’re doing long hours, often we don’t have time to have lunch, and we’re not finishing on time. (It’s) all for the patients, and we’re there for them.”

Union spokespeople are keeping their cards close to their chests, and won’t say what their next move will be. For now, they say, the government should pay closer attention to their concerns.

Paramedics earn between $23 and $35 per hour, but to be on par with other emergency workers, they want a salary increase of about 15 per cent. They say that they’re often asked to provide extra services.

“There’s a lot of medical acts that are actually achieved by the paramedics that were not in the last few years,” said Union Spokesperson Claude Lamarche.

The Quebec government, for its part, is offering a 6 per cent pay raise over three years, something Lamarche says is “not even acceptable.”

Without a collective agreement, paramedics have been on strike since the summer. However, because they’re an essential service, their pressure tactics have been administrative in nature, like refusing to send  bills, for example.

“We have commitments and responsibilities with the job we do,” said paramedic Patricia Dufour. “It feels like the government doesn’t take us seriously.”