The B.C. General Employees Union, representing the unionized workers at the Kootenay Lake ferries, has filed an unfair labour practice complaint at the Labour Relations Board.
A union news release alleges that the ferry operator, Western Pacific Marine, has refused to sign and implement the terms of the collective agreement that members ratified on June 30, 2025, after a year-long strike.
The news release goes on to say that the company has failed to issue retroactive pay owed and has not implemented new items in the collective agreement including day-to-day scheduling, benefit increases and shift differentials.
“In the last round of bargaining, ferry workers fought for and secured a contract that would ensure the long-term survival of safe, reliable ferry service for the ferry-dependent communities,” said BCGEU vice-president Sebastian Kallos.
Western Pacific Marine manages and operates the ferry system on behalf of the BC Ministry of Transportation, with their contract renewal due in 2028.
The 80 BCGEU members who work at Western Pacific Marine on Kootenay Lake include masters, mates, engineers, deckhands, cable ferry operators, terminal attendants and marine clerks.
Since the strike ended, the company and the union have not been able to sort out how to implement several of the binding recommendations imposed by arbitrator Vince Ready after he was called in last year to help end the strike.
The union’s complaint follows an April 8 statement from Western Pacific Marine blaming union intransigence for the company’s inability to implement several of Ready’s recommendations on training and scheduling.