Entries by Jarod Korchinski

BC Ferries revises four-year plan, cites financial and staffing challenges

BC Ferries has reassessed its latest four-year plan to include new challenges the service is facing, the company said. A 41-page report has been submitted to the independent BC Ferries Commissioner, updating the corporation’s previous plan which was provided six months ago. The report outlines challenges including a forecasted mild recession in 2024, an expected decline […]

Ferry worker union calls for contract to be reopened to hike wages

B.C. Ferries will see a wave of workers quitting unless it reopens its collective agreement to increase wages as prices rise, says the president of the union representing employees. At a meeting in Vancouver last week, members were “loud and clear” that they need an increase in wages, said Eric McNeely, president of the B.C. […]

BC ferries workers ask for religious exemption from clean-shaven rule

A union representing marine workers is taking BC Ferries to task over one of the company’s policies regarding facial hair. Dan Kimmerly, president of the Ships Officers’ Component of the BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union, says three employees are looking for religious exemptions from the policy that men must be clean-shaven “The members that […]

BC Ferries Board ends contract with chief executive Mark Collins

The departure comes as the ferry system posts frequent sailing-cancellation notices due to crew shortages. B.C. Ferry Services announced Friday it has ended its contract with Mark Collins, who has served since April 2017 as ­president and chief executive of the company, which operates as B.C. Ferries. Collins, whose contract had been due to run […]

Colin Laird and Harry Cameron Memorial Scholarship

“Western Maritime Institute and the Ferry Workers’ Union are pleased to announce another five-year agreement, sponsoring Ferry Workers who wish to further their careers in the marine industry. The Ferry Workers’ Union and Western Maritime Institutes Colin Laird & Harry Cameron memorial scholarship is part of an ongoing relationship between education and labour to ease the shortage of […]

Ferry workers’ union pushes back against claims ‘absenteeism’ behind service cancellations

The president of the union representing BC Ferries workers says the company’s comments that employee absenteeism led to a handful of service cancellations over the weekend are a “slap in the face.” Several Sunday afternoon and evening sailings were cancelled to and from Salt Spring Island, prompting BC Ferries to call in a water taxi to shuttle […]

BC Ferries invites unvaccinated workers back amid staffing shortage

In the heart of the pandemic, BC Ferries put approximately 150 unvaccinated people on unpaid leave. Now with the federal vaccine mandate lifted, it’s giving those employees a choice. “Now there’s an opportunity for those folks to come back to work, which we’re hoping will provide some relief for the shortage of workers we have,” […]