B.C. 911 call takers stretched thin amid staffing, retention challenges

Staffing shortages among B.C. 911 call operators continue to create challenges, with the union representing those employees reporting many members are “just simply stretched to the max.”

According to Donald Grant, the president of Emergency Communication Professionals of BC, staffing levels are lower than ever in the province and many call takers are finding it difficult to keep up with demand.

“What we really need to do is solve the staffing crisis to recruit and actually retain our staff so that we can deliver the service that British Columbians deserve,” he told CityNews.

“Our staffing numbers are just so low that we’re very concerned about how we’re going to make it through the summer, working such excessive amounts of overtime.”

He estimates half of the workers who were on shift on Canada Day had to work overtime, given the lack of staff. But when it comes to the overall staffing issue, retention appears to be a major problem, despite Grant saying they are hiring on an ongoing basis.

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He points to what he calls “poor working conditions, high workload, and non-competitive wages” as reasons for difficulty in worker retention. Grant adds the union has been bringing these points up with their employer, with some “short-term solutions” worked out. However, those are only in place until September.

“What I’m hearing from our members is that these short-term solutions are nice but they’re looking for these changes to become permanent and for the wages to essentially be addressed because there are other emergency communications centres paying up to 20 per cent more than us, and they are the ones that are attracting the workers that we have currently. It’s just creating a situation where it is inevitable that E-Comm is going to be understaffed because of that non-competitive wage package,” he explained.

Jasmine Bradley, who speaks for E-Comm, notes the summer months are typically a busy time for 911 call takers. As we progress through the warmer season, she expects more calls for emergency response to come in.

“This Canada Day long weekend definitely much, much busier for police, fire, and ambulance, and our call volumes have been higher just as we anticipated heading into these last few days,” Bradley explained.

While exact call numbers for the long weekend aren’t yet available, Bradley says the weekend prior, when temperatures spiked for the first time this summer, was one of the busiest weekends of the year.

She tells CityNews there was a 23 per cent increase in 911 calls over the last weekend in June compared to previous weekends that month.

‘It’s a nation-wide crisis’

Bradley confirms many employees are working overtime.

“[That] is how we can ensure minimum staffing levels are being met. E-Comm’s been very open and transparent about the fact that we are understaffed and we are underfunded. So we know and recognize that our employees are working more overtime than they should be in order to make sure that there’s someone at the other end of the 911 lines and also dispatching police and fire and ambulance,” she added.

She admits recruitment and retention challenges are not new to the organization. She notes these are challenges other agencies are also facing.

“These truly are issues that are being faced by 911 call centres across the country. It’s a nation-wide crisis in terms of there just not being enough employees to meet increase in demand and strain on the emergency services system,” Bradley said.

“The tight labour market has made recruitment a challenge, for sure. And also retaining employees has also been an issue. It’s a demanding job and it’s not for everyone. With the tight labour market, it does mean we do have staff leaving for other opportunities and we also have a number of staff who are on leave, as well, due to various reasons,” she continued.

The stress on mental health is something workers deal with every day, Grant notes, adding with every call added to the queue, call takers are left anxious about what emergencies people are dealing with as they wait for someone to pick up the phone.

“Trying to get people the help that they deserve. It’s just heartbreaking to know that people are waiting on hold by themselves and we just can’t get to them fast enough,” Grant added.

The union is urging its employer to “make some substantive changes to the compensation and wage package,” as well as make these changes permanent in an effort to “course-correct this downward trend.”

Bradley says staffing levels are down about 20 per cent now compared to 2021 — which was already a historic year for E-Comm. Grant highlights the challenges his members faced last year, saying a similar situation needs to be avoided.

E-Comm is responsible for answering 99 per cent of B.C.’s 911 calls.