Cape Breton 911 operators say staffing issues, long hours are a public-safety issue

SYDNEY, N.S. -

Cape Breton 911 operators are sounding the alarm on what they say is an emergency of their own.

Tammy Martin, a national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says staffing shortages among 911 staff at the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) Emergency Services Centre on Grand Lake Road is making things unsafe for workers, and the people they are trying to help.

"They are so scared; for themselves and the public," Martin told CTV Atlantic.

Martin says staff have presented their concerns to the municipality, but they haven't seen the changes they've been looking for. She says the biggest issue is that there should be four employees to a shift.

"Ninety per cent of the time, I would say, (we work) with only two on staff," Martin says. "And if that one person has to step away and perhaps go to the washroom, in a 12-hour shift, that other one person is left alone."

Michael Nickerson is head of the union representing paramedics in Nova Scotia. He says although the paramedics in CBRM that he represents are dispatched out of Dartmouth, there's the potential for a ripple effect, adding that his members are already dealing with "code criticals" across the province that have seen ambulance and paramedic shortages.

"If there's a shortage of 911 call takers at the Grand Lake Road station, then there could be a potential delay in bumping that call over to EHS dispatch," Nickerson said.

In an emailed statement to CTV Atlantic, a spokesperson for the CBRM said, in part: "No 911 calls in CBRM have been delayed or missed. Our front-line 911 operators are a critical part of our emergency response team, and staffing levels of operators is a high priority. Over the past year, several full-time operators have been hired and more are currently in process."

Martin was quick to react.

"I do know that they have an ongoing job posting," she said. "But again, somebody will come in and they will take the job. When they see what the job entails, for the money it pays, they will move on."

For now, Martin says some employees are working 60 to 80 hours a week, with not enough vacation time.  The municipality says its collective agreement with 911 operators expires Oct. 31.