The BC General Employees’ Union has requested a provincial mediator to help resolve the Kootenay Lake Ferry labour dispute and restore service.
Paul Finch, President of the BCGEU, says the union reached out to the Minister of Labour to appoint a special mediator to help resolve the ongoing job action between ferry operator Western Pacific Marine and BCGEU ferry workers.
“We’re cognizant of the strike’s impact on the community as well as our members who provide the service. We want to take every step possible to find a fair resolution. Look, we want to try and find a deal here, and I’m optimistic that we will be able to do that. But we think this is the path to go down.”
In a counterstatement issued March 26, Western Pacific Marine said it welcomes the union’s request for a special mediator but maintains that binding arbitration remains the most effective and impartial way to achieve a fair resolution.
“We have addressed the union’s core demands and presented fair proposals that ensure both competitive wages and long-term service reliability,” said Odai Sirri, General Manager of WPM. “While we support the Special Mediation process, we still believe that binding arbitration would provide the quickest, most equitable resolution by relying on facts rather than rhetoric.”
The two sides engaged with an independent mediator at earlier stages of bargaining; however, the union says that due to the “challenges” introduced by WPM’s sudden reduction in wage offers, a special mediator is now necessary.
“We were razor-close to a deal in the last round of regular mediation. Then the employer suddenly tabled an offer that was 60 per cent lower than the prior offer. That’s significant because it basically took arbitration off the table,” said Finch.
He accuses WPM’s request for arbitration of being a “cynical ploy” to secure a more favourable outcome for the employer.
“It creates a lowball offer like that, in our view, as a cynical ploy to set up a more favourable outcome for arbitration. And so, from our perspective, that’s completely inappropriate, and we’ve filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint as a result. It poisoned the well for arbitration, and we believe mediation is now the way forward.”
Meanwhile, WPM is particularly concerned by the union’s characterization of a “sudden reduction in wage offers,” claiming it is misleading, as the company’s wage proposals have “remained consistent,” with any adjustments reflecting the negotiation process and in direct response to the union’s proposals.
“Our preference for binding arbitration remains because it offers an impartial third party the opportunity to assess both sides’ positions and deliver a fair determination,” Sirri continued. “Nonetheless, we are hopeful that Special Mediation will create the necessary momentum to bring this dispute to a long-overdue, constructive conclusion.”
Both sides have thrown several accusations and pointed fingers at each other for delaying negotiations that would put an end to the job action, which has been impacting ferry operations since November.
The BCGEU reverted the strike action on the vessel to an overtime work ban in mid-March; however, staffing issues have still resulted in several sailing cancellations.
In a previous interview with Vista Radio, Sirri accused the BCGEU of directing its members to further instigate service disruptions by calling in sick, not showing up for work, or not answering their phones.
Finch denies this accusation and says the employer has no evidence to support such a claim.
“The BCGEU is not, in any way, shape, or form, telling our members or implying that our members should not show up to work for their shifts. That is completely and totally false. If the employer had a shred of evidence, they would have brought it forward to the labour board. They haven’t, they don’t. It’s simply not true.”
Sirri also accused the BCGEU of stalling negotiations ahead of the summer, which is a busy season for the ferry. Finch calls this accusation “absurd.”
“That is absurd. We began job action in the fall. It makes no sense to say that job action is being dragged out over the winter months for the summer. No, this job action has dragged on far too long because the employer is not coming to the table with a fair deal. And as a result, we are now just a few months away from the summer.”
The BCGEU has requested that the special mediator be appointed immediately. Finch says the union will use the opportunity to engage with the province on the potential to conduct a service evaluation and examine the intentions behind the private contract.
“There needs to be a value-for-service determination. Are the residents getting the services they need as part of the Interior highway system? Is the intention of the privatization contract really delivering the value that was initially envisioned? Frankly, it’s fundamentally unfair and doesn’t work to have one group of employees operating at one inland ferry operator making less than another group of employees at another inland ferry operator.”
Both sides say they remain committed to resolving the dispute and restoring reliable service in the region.
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