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PEMBROKE, ON – Renfrew County paramedics, 97 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), will enter conciliation talks with Renfrew County on October 12th and 13th, with the assistance of a provincial ministry of Labour conciliation officer. The ambulance workers have been trying to negotiate a collective agreement since they were downloaded to Renfrew County from the Pembroke Regional Hospital in January 2005.

We still have many difficult issues to resolve,” said Kerry Papineau, president of CUPE Local 4698. “We will work very hard to achieve a negotiated settlement, but a lot will depend on the willingness of County negotiators to do what’s necessary to move forward with a fair collective agreement.”

The first issue to deal with is an essential service agreement,” said Bev Smale, CUPE National Representative. “The bottom line is, we want a fair collective agreement and an assurance that residents will not have to worry about a disruption in ambulance services.”

CUPE 4698 members provide services in Renfrew County and ambulance bases in Arnprior, Renfrew, Barry’s Bay, Eganville, Pembroke, Chalk River and Petawawa.

Our work is important to the safety of our communities,” said Papineau. “With that in mind, we are doing our best to secure a fair collective agreement as quickly as possible, and one that will protect the quality and continuity of ambulance services in the region.”


For further information, please contact:

Bev Smale
CUPE national representative
Ottawa Area Office
(613) 237-0115
(613) 859-3137 (cell)

Kerry Papineau
CUPE 4698 president
(613) 635-1636 (cell)

Robert Lamoureux
CUPE communications
(416) 292-3999