B.C. Ferry routes cancelled due to strike

VANCOUVER (Dec. 9, 2003) — New talks between the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union and B.C. Ferries Corp. ended yesterday without any progress made in contract negotiations. A mediator said he’d adjourned the meetings because the union and corporation were too far apart.

Pickets went up early yesterday morning, forcing cancellations and delays of B.C. ferry routes. Ferry terminals near Vancouver and Victoria were jammed with vehicle, passenger, and idle trucks — including those with reservations or assured loading, as those services have been suspended.

The B.C. Labour Relations Board set “essential service levels” last week in hopes of maintaining ferry sailings between 30 and 70 per cent of normal operations. Despite the priority ratings — which places commercial vehicles just behind medical and emergency transportation and school buses — the terminals were still described as “chaotic” by Canadian Press.

The service guidelines require two round trips for the Comox-Westview route, but both were cancelled due to union action, as well as a third required round trip from Horshoe Bay to Departure Bay, the company said. One of the hardest-hit routes was Nanaimo-Horseshoe Bay. Sailings were reduced to just three in either direction each day, down from eight.

The said yesterday it will step up the picket lines, hitting more B.C. Ferries regional offices. Talks between the two sides have gone nowhere since the contract expired Oct. 31. The two parties still remain far apart on issues dealing with wages and contracting work out.

Meanwhile, the B.C. government has passed legislation enabling it to impose a 90-day “cooling-off period” that would force both sides to suspend job action while talks are underway. However, it’s too early to invoke the legislation, the government said.

— with files from Canadian Press