Two weeks into their strike, emergency dispatch workers across Nova Scotia are calling on their employer to return to the bargaining table.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Local 015 represents the dispatchers who answer 911 medical calls and dispatch ground and air ambulances.
The workers, who went on strike July 17, held a rally outside the offices of Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC) in Dartmouth on Thursday. The union has been bargaining with EMC for over a year, but says the two sides remain far apart on issues including wages and staffing.
Those on the picket lines say limited resources and low wages have taken their toll.
“Every day when I come in, I’m asked to make quick decisions that have life or death consequences,” said Jordan McVeigh, who works as a communications training officer with EMC.
He says about 60 workers respond to medical 911 calls in Nova Scotia, serving a population of more than a million.
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He’s advocating for more competitive pay to limit turnover and prevent the number of workers from dwindling further.
“We’d be able to keep more of the people that we hire and it would just be good for everyone, including people of Nova Scotia,” he said.
CUPW says staffing hit “dangerously” low levels in 2025.
EMC is mandated to have 20 people working while the strike is ongoing, under the province’s essential services agreement. The union points out that this number ironically exceeds staffing levels when workers are not on strike.
“That’s 33 per cent higher than the average staffing levels in 2025 during the weekdays, and we are on strike,” said Craig Power, CUPW’s Atlantic lead negotiator.
Power says the company’s non-paramedic dispatchers do the same work as their paramedic colleagues, but earn about $8 less per hour, which he says results in significant turnover.
“They can go to the police, they can go to Costco and make the same amount of money, right?” Power said.
“That’s how bad it is…. That’s a hard job, taking those calls from people. They take calls from people on the worst day.”
EMC, a private company contracted by Nova Scotia’s Emergency Health Services, told Global News it’s committed to bargaining.
“We value all employees and are committed to the collective bargaining process, so a fair and comprehensive agreement can be reached,” the statement read.
The province’s Department of Health and Wellness says it trusts both parties will “make every effort” to reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, those on the picket lines say wages that keep up with living costs would go a long way toward making that happen. ”
“We do it because we want to help people. But it becomes harder to do that when you got a job that’s stressful and people keep leaving it,” McVeigh said.
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