Union accuses B.C. Ferries of unfair labour practices in new complaint to Labour Relations Board

The union representing B.C. Ferries staff has accused the corporation of unfair labour tactics amid fierce negotiations for a wage hike, according to a new complaint to the B.C. Labour Relations Board obtained by CBC News. 

The Dec. 14 complaint by the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union (BCFMWU) claims B.C. Ferries has violated the province's Labour Relations Code several times by allegedly undertaking "a concerted campaign" to undermine the union's authority, bargaining behind its back and spreading misinformation.

The union is seeking $2.1 million in combined damages and orders for multiple declarations of wrongdoing in addition to a complete stop to the alleged illegal tactics by B.C. Ferries.

The complaint's allegations have not been heard by the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) and B.C. Ferries has not yet filed a response. 

The BCFMWU represents approximately 4,800 seasonal and permanent B.C. Ferries employees, according to the complaint. 

The union alleges B.C. Ferries bargained directly with a faction of the union's members in remote areas — behind the union's back — to provide accommodations and housing stipends for more than a year, a matter the BCFMWU grieved in April. 

It says B.C. Ferries "failed to make every reasonable effort" to reach an arbitration settlement before an agreed Oct. 31 deadline, continued to provide housing benefits after that deadline in violation of the agreement, and then blamed the union when it told employees the housing benefits will now end on Dec. 31.

Benefits included $650 per month to some staff living in the Northern Gulf Islands, as well as rental agreements for staff accommodations on Quadra and Texada Islands, according to the claim.

The union accuses B.C. Ferries of breaching confidentiality when it allegedly shared details of the ongoing wage arbitration in emails to employees, blaming the union for delays that meant employees would not receive a pay bump ahead of the holiday season, according to the complaint. 

"The employer misrepresented the negotiations that occurred between the parties and cast the union as callous and uninterested in its members' interests, stoking anger, fear, and frustration in the union's members and pitting them against the union and each other," said the complaint. 

"Members have been openly discussing the removal of or change of bargaining representatives."

BCFMWU provincial president Eric McNeely told CBC News the union has provided several dates to continue arbitration, including on weekends and over the holidays, but B.C. Ferries has not made itself available.

"It takes two to negotiate," McNeely said Saturday.

B.C. Ferries, however, pushed back on that claim Sunday, and said that negotiating dates are set by the arbitrators, not the corporation.

In a Saturday emailed statement to CBC News, B.C. Ferries said it "honours the agreement it has with the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union about respectful communication toward and about each other."

"While we're aware of the complaint and will be responding to it, there is a limitation to what we can say right now as the matter is now before the Labour Relations Board."

A spokesperson for the LRB declined to confirm or comment on the status of the complaint in a statement emailed Monday to CBC News, saying complaints are confidential under the B.C. Labour Code.

'It can only be described as a crisis,' says complaint

The complaint offers a glimpse inside a months-long wage negotiation at the ferry service, where the union says staff are underpaid and overworked as efforts to recruit and retain qualified staff — compounded by a global marine staffing shortage — fall short.

McNeely says after "once-in-a-generation inflation," staff are currently being paid between 18 and 60 per cent less than their peers in other industries. Some companies are even sending representatives to stand outside B.C. Ferries terminals to offer higher-paying work to employees, he said.

"People are barely able to make ends meet. This has led to anger and frustration among the union's members. It can only be described as a crisis," said the complaint.

In 2022, the province ousted former CEO Mark Collins, tasking his replacement, Nicolas Jimenez, with an "overhaul" of the service. 

But cancelled sailings due to crew shortages have doubled in the past year, B.C. Ferries reported earlier this year, prompting the province to promise penalties for future core service disruptions.

B.C. Ferries employees are currently in the middle of a five-year contract that includes a four per cent raise over three years, but the union and employer agreed to reopen wage negotiations early on Aug. 1, according to the complaint.

Having not reached a deal, the union and B.C. Ferries are now in a binding arbitration process expected to resume in February. The union does not have the ability to legally strike due to a 2003 binding arbitration decision. 

B.C. Ferries said it is "looking forward to a good outcome for our people and having this process complete in the new year when the arbitrator panel makes its ruling."