About 150 unionized paramedics are refusing to work overtime to underscore the city’s desperate need to hire 200 more paramedics, says the group’s spokesman.

Ken Horton, a Toronto EMS veteran of almost 30 years, said he hopes the move will force the city to solve the problem of severe understaffing that has been getting worse over the last decade.

Paramedics decided to refuse overtime at an emergency meeting last Wednesday, said Horton, a CUPE Local 416 steward. They then took their names off an overtime contact list indefinitely.

“We’ve had instances where people will wait eight hours for an ambulance,” he said. “It’s ridiculous for people to say that this is a world-class ambulance system.”

According to a City of Toronto operating budget report, EMS paramedics arrived at critical calls within 8:59 minutes in 62.9 per cent of cases in 2011.

Assigned emergency call volumes have increased from a monthly average of 15,848 in 2002 to 19,800 in 2011, a 24.9 per cent jump over nine years, according to the same report.

Horton said about 80 paramedics work at night and usually double that number during the day. Those staffing levels are not enough to cover the increase in call volume, he said.

According to the budget report, the Health ministry requires all Ontario EMS service providers to achieve, on a yearly basis, a target response time of 8:59 minutes 84 per cent of the time.

Horton said Toronto needs more paramedics to achieve this level of service.

He said about 30 paramedics have been taking their names off the list every day since last week’s meeting.

EMS workers told CityNews last week that 30 per cent of service is based on overtime hours. Horton said he believes that is accurate.

However Toronto EMS superintendent Kim McKinnon said the number is much less.

“I was able to confirm that Toronto EMS’ overtime budget can be up to 5 per cent only,” she said in an email.

McKinnon also said the EMS is not experiencing any operational issues because of the overtime refusal.

“I don’t foresee having any problems because of the group refusing to work overtime,” she said, adding it’s been business as usual.

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Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said he doesn’t think the province will “let the public be put in harm’s way over this. I don’t think it’s fair for these people to try to do that.

“They don’t need to stay and work with us if they don’t like our terms. We negotiated with Local 416 and the terms are fair to the worker and the taxpayer.”