HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Honolulu Emergency Medical Services will implement significant pay raises starting in January to recruit and retain experienced paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers who handle about 9,000 calls every month island-wide.

“It’s tough. It’s stressful. We ask a lot of our paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers. They’re going to record number of calls,” said Dr. James Ireland, director of the city’s Emergency Services Department.

The city approved Ireland’s budget request to fund step raises that particularly reward longevity, with the most experienced workers receiving the largest increases.

Workers with two years or less time will receive a $2 per hour of work boosting their hourly rate to $34. That amounts to about $4,000 more every year.

The scale goes up from there topp

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