Hamilton EMS rally for fair pay amid drawn-out contract talks

For two years, negotiations between Hamilton’s paramedic service and the city have gone nowhere.

On Wednesday, both parties sat down for conciliation with a third party, but members of the union say all they want is a fair deal.

“This is to send a simple message to the employer: bargaining has not gone well, and we’re asking them to stop treating paramedics like third rate citizens, behind police and fire,” said Mario Posteraro, the president of OPSEU Local 256.

A large crowd of members from the union gathered on Hamilton’s East Mountain Wednesday morning, ahead of Wednesday’s round of bargaining.

After having gone two years without an updated collective bargaining agreement.

“We have two recent municipalities: Peel and Kitchener-Waterloo, that are comparable to our region in size and call volume, that have been able to consensually negotiate wage increases of 10 to 12 per cent, beyond what the City of Hamilton has offered its paramedics,” said Posteraro.

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In 2023, the starting wage for a paramedic in Hamilton was $40.88 an hour.

At that time, other regions had similar wages: Peel got $40.92 an hour; Toronto got $41.31 an hour and Kitchener-Waterloo got $39.82 per hour.

Since then, they’ve all renegotiated their contracts. Peel is now one of the highest in the area, at $52.75 an hour. In Toronto, they get $46.59, and in Kitchener-Waterloo they get $50.63.

Hamilton remains to be seen.

While the city council reviewed its proposed 2026 budget Wednesday, Hamilton’s chief paramedic Russell Crocker made clear: his staff are strained.

“Now we have seen since 20-23, is that demand is actually higher than expected,” said Crocker. “We’re averaging basically from 2022 to 2025 closer to 4.58 per cent, or roughly 5,000 calls a year.”

“We don’t make nearly what we should make and the parity is so far between us, police and fire,” said Hamilton paramedic Pam Brennan. “It doesn’t make us feel very good when we know that our neighbours are making significant gains, when it comes to pays and respect that they get from their city.”

The president for Hamilton’s paramedics union says he predicts negotiations with the city will drag on, until the end of 2026.

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