Language and scheduling is making provincial paramedics angry.
Local CUPE leader Denny Cogswell telling us casual and part-time staff are not getting shifts and bilingual paramedics are working overtime since a new policy kicked in two weeks ago.
Cogswell says paramedics never have trouble communicating with any patient saying they have apps on their phones and a language line in their vehicles.
He says they are trained as professionals to deal with unresponsive people and all kinds of language barriers saying their people have never had a problem with that.
Cogswell says they want their regular schedule re-instated adding this has been building for a year saying they have filed grievances and no one wants to come to the table and listen to a common sense approach.
They believe the new policy came about due to recommendations from the Language commissioner.
Our Newsroom has reached out to Ambulance New Brunswick to get their opinion on this.
In Saint John, several Conservative MLA’s were on hand at the protest.
We contacted Ambulance New Brunswick for a response and we got the following sentence.
Director of Operations for ANB, Yvon Bourque, says patient care was in no way compromised by the two hour CUPE rally.
