Scores of paramedics rallied outside Toronto City Hall on Tuesday demanding they be declared an essential service in the face of a potential work stoppage that would cut staffing levels by 15 per cent.
More than 100 paramedics gathered at Nathan Phillips Square Tuesday morning, chanting and waving pickets as they marched in a large circle.
Inside city hall, Toronto's powerful executive committee was preparing to consider a motion giving paramedics the essential service designation.
Toronto and CUPE Local 416, which represents some 6,000 city workers including paramedics, are in the midst of a tense negotiating standoff over a new bargaining agreement.
The two sides have until Feb. 5 to work out a deal before a strike or lockout becomes a legal option.
A group calling itself Paramedics for Essential Services says that if a labour disruption takes place, the number of paramedics that can work in the city is reduced by 15 per cent – a drop off that would put lives at risk.
