ESPANOLA—Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board (DSB) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the union representing Emergency Medical Service workers (ambulance) have come to a new contract agreement.
“Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB and OPSEU Local 679 have ratified a new collective agreement that came into effect on January 1, 2025,” said DSB CAO Donna Stewart. “This new contract includes the following highlights: a four-year agreement that includes annual pay increases of three percent through the end of 2027 and a 3.5 percent increase on January 2028.”
The contract also provides an opportunity to expand the Paramedic Services provision to include Advanced Care Paramedics and the introduction of more full-time positions to offset the current significant dependence on part-time staffing.
Many of the DSB’s part-time staff have, in fact, transitioned to full-time—making it challenging to cover temporary shortages due to sickness, vacations or people leaving DSB employ. The DSB hopes to be hiring more full-time workers in order to provide that coverage going forward.
“The board and I are very happy that we were able to come to an agreement before its expiry,” said Ms. Stewart. “We look forward to moving the service forward while creating better patient care for those that we serve.”
