Earlier this month, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta published an update on their website regarding contract negotiations for workers employed by Prairie Emergency Medical Services Inc.
Based out of Fort Saskatchewan, Prairie EMS is a private ambulance provider in northeastern Alberta. Their workers provide advanced life support, inter-facility transfers, and non-ambulance transport services.
They recently changed their name to Medavie Health Services West.
HSAA represents about 140 workers employed by Prairie EMS/Medavie, including primary care paramedics, advanced care paramedics, and emergency medical responders.
Their most recent collective agreement expired in March 2025, which means they have not had a wage increase in over 2.5 years, since their last raise in April 2024.
Unfortunately, the employer did not meet with the workers’ bargaining team until May 2025, so there was no chance they could have a new contract prior to the expiry date.
The two parties did not meet again for 4 months. They were supposed to get together table in August 2025, but for some reason that meeting was delayed until the following month. At these meetings, they started negotiations on monetary items, such as wages and benefits.
When they resumed negotiations last December, it became clear early on that the two parties would not be able to reach consensus on a new agreement. The workers’ bargaining team sais that the monetary offer put forward by Prairie EMS/Medavie “fell far short of what our members deserve and did not reflect the realities of your work or the rising cost of living”.
As a result, they filed for formal mediation, which was approved, and mediation began this past March. However, they fell apart quickly, and in April, the workers’ bargaining team asked the mediator to write out of mediation after the employer told them that they lacked the finances to pay their workers properly.
After being written out of mediation, the workers’ bargaining committee intended to apply to the Alberta Labour Relations Board for binding arbitration.
Before that happened though, the two parties tried once more to negotiate unaided this past August. That did not work, and they went to arbitration last month, after a combined 9 days of bargaining and 3 days of mediation.
Mark Asbell was appointed as arbitrator. The employer nominated Roland King to join Asbell on the arbitration panel, and the workers’ bargaining committee nominated Scott Wilcox.
The arbitration panel held 3 hearings in September and one in October. They issued their award on 7 October.
That award included a 12% wage increase over 4 years:
| 1 April 2025* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2026* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2027 | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2028 | 3.00% |
| 12.00% |
They also awarded market adjustments of 8.44% for primary care paramedics and 4% for advanced care paramedics, effective this month. These adjustments are on top of the two retroactive wage increases they are owed.
Emergency medical responders will move to a 6-step pay grid in April. Currently, all EMR make the same amount of money.
The panel has reduced benefit premiums for workers from 50% of total premium cost to just 25%. The workers’ bargaining committee wanted it reduced to 0%.
The matching RRSP contribution will increase to 6%. It had previously been a defined dollar amount, ranging from $50 to $350 per month. The workers had asked for 7% matching contributions.
Several premiums have increased:
| Previous | New | |
|---|---|---|
| On-call duty | $4.00 | $7.00 |
| Weekend | $3.15 | $3.25 |
| Meal allowance | $13.00 | $17.00 |
The meal allowance will further increase to $19.00 in April.
Workers who work between 19:00 and 07:00 will received a new $2.50 night premium, which can be pyramided with weekend premiums.
There is also a new preceptor premium of $2 an hour for those who take student workers under their wing.
Paramedical coverage has doubled, from $500 to $1,000. And there is a new mental health paramedical coverage of up to $3,000.
The clothing allowance has been split to allow for a new boot allowance of $300 every 2 years. The workers had asked for $175 per year, and the employer wanted $250 every 2 years.
Domestic violence leave has been changed from 10 days of unpaid leave to 5 days of paid leave.
The new agreement is effective April 2025 and expires in March 2029.
