Ambulance services in rural areas of the province may soon be impacted as workers contemplate targeted job action following the breakdown of talks with employers.

Hubert Dawe with Teamsters 855 says talks are at a standstill with both Freake’s Ambulance and Fewer’s Ambulance.

The big issue at play according to Dawe is pay. He describes a “great disparity” in the pay of workers in the private vs public sectors.

He says these are multi-million dollar companies that are trying to provide services on the backs of members without offering them the rewards or recognizing them for the service they provide.

Job action voting could start by the end of the month for both companies, but Dawe assures the public that emergency services will not be impacted.

What will be impacted, he explains, is non-essential medical transport, such as someone being taken from the hospital back to their home. He says that sort of action is the only thing they can do that will have an impact on the employer without being a detriment to the people of the province.