FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  March 12, 2002

OPSEU members will answer 911 calls

TORONTO - OPSEU members who answer 911 emergency ambulance calls WILL answer 911 calls in the event of a strike.

OPSEU members will perform all “essential services” as set out by law and under the Essential Services Agreement.

“The government has raised this issue to deflect attention from the real issue, which is that they refuse to start rebuilding the public service,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman.

“They have produced something they call an OPSEU Press Release, stating that OPSEU members will not answer 911 calls. This is untrue and the document is NOT an official OPSEU document,” she said. “Even though the government does not consider answering the phones essential, our members are committed to public safety and will perform the functions of their job.”

OPSEU represents staff at Ontario’s Central Ambulance Communications Centres employed by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, including those in Hamilton, Oshawa, Mississauga, Cambridge, Barrie, Lindsay, London, Renfrew, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Windsor.

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For more information, contact:

David Cox, OPSEU Communications: 416-443-8888 x 314 or 416-788-9197 cell
Katie FitzRandolph, OPSEU Communications: (416) 448-7440; (416)788-057cell
Randy Robinson, OPSEU Communications (416) 448-7441; (416) 788-9134 cell