Tentative deal reached for B.C. inland ferry workers after weeks of job action

Job action on ferry routes in B.C.'s Interior may be coming to an end after workers unionized with the B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) reached a tentative deal with WaterBridge Ferries on Friday. 

WaterBridge operates four ferry routes in the Kootenay region, where around 90 workers refused overtime between Sept. 28 and Oct. 16. The job action led to reduced service levels and cancellations, even after the overtime ban was suspended.

The inland ferries, which are operated by private companies but funded by the provincial government, are a part of B.C.'s highway system, acting as a bridge over certain waterways.

WaterBridge operates three ferries on Arrow Lakes, and one on Adams Lake.

On Saturday, BCGEU and WaterBridge announced a tentative deal. 

"On Friday, our union bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with WaterBridge Ferries that we feel meets the requirements for sustainable service that we laid out at the beginning of bargaining," BCGEU president Paul Finch said in a statement.

Finch added that wages and training for his members were previously not sufficient to ensure the long-term sustainability of the inland ferries.

He said workers will vote on the tentative deal in the coming weeks, but no further details of the agreement were provided.

The BCGEU ferry workers also reached a tentative deal with WaterBridge Equipment, which operates the Francois Lake Ferry between Francois Lake and Southbank in northwest B.C.

In addition to the job action on routes operated by WaterBridge, BCGEU ferry workers had also issued strike notice to another operator called Western Pacific Marine, which operates three ferries on Kootenay Lake.

Those routes have not been disrupted by job action, and the company says it continues to bargain with the union.

"Now that WaterBridge Ferries and WaterBridge Equipment have reached tentative agreements that respect the importance of these ferries and the work required to operate them, we hope that Western Pacific Marine will come to the table ready to agree to increases in line with the rest of the industry," Finch said in his statement.