The president of the Calgary Police Association is calling on the province to place emergency dispatchers on the list of essential services in order to prevent a possible strike.
John Dooks said Sunday that 911 operators should be treated like police officers, firefighters and paramedics who are forced into binding arbitration during collective bargaining because they provide essential services.
"It's unacceptable that people have their heads in the sand thinking that no we don't have to worry about this, but these are the eyes and ears of all three essential services. It's just ridiculous to think that these integral staff are not an essential service," Mr. Dooks said.
He was responding to a report in the Calgary Sun Sunday that members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents more than 220 unionized dispatchers in Calgary, voted overwhelming to strike after three days of voting.
Official results were not to be released by the province until Monday. The Alberta Labour Relations Code takes away the right to strike for certain classes of workers, but 911 operators can resort to a work stoppage.
So far, the province has not waded into the dispute.
Janice Schroeder, a spokeswoman with Alberta Employment and Immigration, said the province would only intervene at the point a strike or lockout notice was served. Meantime, the government prefers to let the two parties continue negotiations, she said.
In 2007, Alberta declared a public emergency to prevent a strike of 400 paramedics in Calgary and later lumped them in with other essential services.
The city could apply to the province to add 911 operators to that list.
"It's an option, but it's not one we're pursuing right now," said Shannon Carignan, a spokeswoman for the city.
The two sides have been meeting since before their contract expired in January. The only deal offered by the city was rejected by 93 per cent of members who voted.
Working conditions, not wages, have been the sticking point, the union has said in the past.
Mr. Dooks described the dispatchers as "overworked" and "overstressed."
"We can't afford to not have these people in prime condition," he said.
Officials from IBEW Local 254 didn't return calls Sunday, but a spokeswoman has publicly called a strike the "last resort."
The city has remained optimistic that a deal could be reached. The two sides agreed to meet with an outside facilitator Wednesday through Friday in an attempt to hammer out a contract.
"That's definitely a positive step," Ms. Carignan said.
But the city has been training other workers, mainly management, over the past few weeks to answer 911 calls in the event picket lines go up.
The union has to give 72 hours strike notice.
Mr. Dooks is also hopeful a strike can be averted, but said it is unacceptable that the public could be put at risk of missed or misdirected 911 calls because of a work stoppage.
"When it can be prevented, I think there's an onus on both sides, and on the province, to ensure that this gets resolved in a manner that prevents any jeopardy to the public," he said.
