The battle between the BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) and Western Pacific Marine over the Kootenay Lake ferry dispute continues, with both sides blaming each other for the prolonged strike that has disrupted service since November.
In mid-March, WPM proposed submitting the dispute to an interest arbitrator. When the BCGEU refused, WPM accused the union of purposely stalling negotiations until summer.
In its most recent statement, the BCGEU rejected this accusation, saying it “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“Our bargaining started in May of 2024. From our union’s experience, meeting in person leads to faster, more productive bargaining, but WPM has refused to come to the Kootenays, preferring to meet over Zoom. We’ve even travelled to Nanaimo and Vancouver because they won’t come out here,” said the BCGEU in its statement.
The union says it has been ready to meet every day for up to 10 hours but claims WPM has cancelled, delayed, rescheduled, or postponed meetings multiple times due to last-minute family obligations.
In a counterstatement issued on March 23, WPM argued that while the company has been in negotiations since June 10, 2024, it was ready to start long before then, saying it was the union that wasn’t prepared earlier.
WPM says both parties agreed to conduct meetings virtually to reduce unnecessary costs and travel time, which was formally signed off in a protocol agreement.
“Despite claiming to be available daily for up to 10 hours, the union has consistently failed to attend meetings on time, causing repeated delays. Additionally, all union bargaining committee members have taken time off for vacation and personal business, further prolonging negotiations, yet the employer has not raised objections,” said WPM.
In March, the BCGEU says WPM changed its negotiator, which led to improved negotiations; however, the union claims it took the new negotiator weeks to get up to speed.
“As a result, we’ve been incredibly frustrated by their refusals to meet, and to blame the union for delays is outrageous. They know that they haven’t been cooperative, so they’re trying to shift the blame.”
Despite the delays, the union says that on March 5, both sides reached a framework for a deal. However, when the offer was submitted to the company’s owner, Graham Clarke, for final approval, the union says he responded with a counteroffer that was out of line with what the negotiating committees had been working on.
“We’ve been outdoors on the picket line, suffering tremendous loss of pay throughout the entire winter. Why would we want this strike to go one day longer than it has to? If this strike drags on, we’re concerned that other ferry operators will poach vital staff and make our staffing challenges worse.”
Wages in Line with BC Ferries
The BCGEU has consistently asked that its members be paid in line with those who work on BC Ferries vessels.
However, WPM says Kootenay Lake Ferry workers are already among the highest-paid mariners on the West Coast, despite many officers having limited certifications that do not qualify them for roles in other marine companies.
WPM General Manager Odai Siri, says a captain on the Osprey currently earns $62 per hour, while a captain on a similar-sized BC Ferries vessel, as of April 2024, also earns $62 per hour—even though the qualifications for BC Ferries are significantly different.
“They are the highest-paid in the country. This is a fact, and we’re not saying that that’s unfair or unreasonable. We’re just saying recognize that you cannot go anywhere else to work other than Kootenay Lake, and you are among the highest-paid in Canada. So, for these credentials, they’re doing extremely well,” said Siri.
The BCGEU acknowledged that lead officers do earn a similar amount as certain BC Ferries operators, such as captains, chief engineers, and mates.
That said, they claim the ships WPM is comparing them to are significantly smaller and have less propulsion than the Osprey 2000, as they carry under 50 vehicles while the Osprey carries 80.
When comparing the Osprey to a ship of similar size, the BCGEU believes its officers are indeed being paid less.
“We are having trouble retaining captains and chief engineers, and other companies in the industry have employed signing bonuses as a way of poaching employees or retaining staff. If we don’t keep wages competitive here, we won’t have anyone to sail our ships. WPM is already flying in captains from the coast for a few days and paying for their lodging to fill the gaps.”
Positions including captains, engineers, mates, deckhands, engine room assistants, and more are all essential under Transport Canada regulations to sail a ship, and they all need special certifications.
Wage discussions had been consistent up until March 10, at which point the BCGEU claims the company cut more than 60 per cent of the increases agreed upon.
Their recent wage offer proposed a three per cent annual increase over the next five years, which the BCGEU says is “nowhere near competitive enough” compared to other ferry operators in the region, including WaterBridge Ferries.
But, according to Siri, the union failed to acknowledge the extensive benefits enhancements that have also been agreed upon.
“We’ve offered them a three per cent increase every single year for the next five years, plus their holiday time, plus their entitlements, plus all of the other benefits that they get. This is a significant offer, and it’s a better offer than our original offer. To say that it’s a drop or reduction is false. This is our best offer that we’ve put on paper. For them to say that it’s less than we’ve offered them previously is a lie.”
Over the past five years, Siri says the company’s officers have received wage increases exceeding 30 per cent, with an additional nine per cent increase this past year—far above other government wage adjustments and inflation rates.
“The increases that we’re budgeted for now are very fair, reasonable, and equitable, and they offer fantastic opportunities for the union and the crew members for growth and advancement.”
Day-for-Day Schedule
From the start of bargaining, the union has pushed for a switch to a day-for-day schedule.
Siri explains that this would look like a rotation crew working seven days, followed by seven days of rest. The current schedule sees six days of work followed by three days of rest.
WPM says this system would be more costly, but the BCGEU claims the company wouldn’t share information on why it believed that.
When it did, the BCGEU says it found errors in the numbers. Together, the union and company determined that the associated costs of such a scheduling system were only slightly higher, at which point the union reduced its wage proposals to match the increase.
However, on March 10, when WPM owner Graham Clarke returned with his counteroffer, the union says he claimed that new calculations showed the schedule system was much more costly than initially thought.
The union says it asked to see the company’s latest financial numbers, but WPM refused.
“Given their faulty numbers in the past, you can imagine we won’t just take their word at face value! They need to show us their calculations before we can respond to their reduced wage offer. We want to know what’s different from the numbers we worked on together,” said the BCGEU.
Siri says these statements are false, adding that the scheduling system is a very costly proposition for any company.
“The union says this is going to be more cost-effective for the company, but it’s not. It’s simple math, and we’ve tried to explain this to them. They don’t understand the math, and we showed it to them.”
Although the BCGEU reverted the vessel’s strike action to an overtime work ban last week, ferry sailings have still been significantly impacted.
According to Siri, that’s because the union has told employees not to answer their phones and not show up for their shifts to instigate sailing cancellations.
Vista Radio reached out to the BCGEU for a response to this accusation but has not yet heard back.
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