A union proposal that would have implemented reduced sailings for the Glade and Harrop ferries on an interim basis has been denied by the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
The labour board is currently reviewing an application by employer Western Pacific Marine to reconsider its December order, which cut crossings and limited the types of passengers who could cross at Harrop and Glade during the ongoing strike. The cable ferries are the only access routes in and out of those communities as well as Procter.
The latest labour ruling published Jan. 23 does not make a decision about Western Pacific Marine's application, which the company has previously said won't be scheduled until some time in February. Normal service has since continued on those routes.
Instead, the labour board had to decide on whether or not it would allow reduced service in the interim following a new application by the B.C. General Employees Union, which represents 80 ferry workers on the Harrop and Glade vessels as well as the Kootenay Lake route between Balfour and Kootenay Bay.
The union argued its negotiating leverage was undercut when, in early January, the board decided to suspend planned service cuts until it had made a decision on Western Pacific Marine's application. Interim reduced service, the union argued, would provide 鈥渁t least some inconvenience that would result to the public from the strike鈥� as noted by the board in its Jan. 23 ruling.
In their written response, labour board chair Jennifer Glougie, vice-chair and registrar Stephanie Drake and vice-chair Carmen Hamilton cited Section 72(2) of the Labour Relations Code that "tasks the board with imposing service levels that will prevent an immediate and serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of British Columbia.鈥�
The board concluded it couldn't determine whether or not reduced sailings would be either a mere inconvenience to the impacted communities or a threat to residents' welfare.
鈥淲e appreciate the union鈥檚 frustration that its ability to exert pressure on the employer through putting pressure on the communities served by the Glade Ferry and the Harrop Ferry has been eliminated 鈥� however, in the interim, it would be contrary to the Board鈥檚 obligation under Section 72(2).鈥�
The complete decision can be read online here.
Ferry workers have been on strike since Nov. 3, with reduced service first being granted on the Kootenay Lake route, although that was later relaxed in late November to allow more passengers and weekend sailings.
Harrop, Glade, Procter and East Shore residents have protested the strike's impact on their lives, arguing the ferries are too vital to their transportation needs to be either reduced in service or shut down entirely.
Mediation between the union and employer is currently scheduled Jan. 29-31.
