Talks meant to end the ongoing Kootenay ferry strike have once again suffered a setback.
The B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU), which represents 80 ferry workers on the Harrop and Glade cable ferries as well as the Kootenay Lake route between Balfour and Kootenay Bay, said in a statement that it believed it was close to a new labour agreement with Western Pacific Marine (WPM).
But the union says talks have once again been derailed after WPM owner Graham Clarke joined bargaining March 11. BCGEU alleges Clarke, in his first appearance at the negotiations, put forward what was characterized as a final offer that cuts wage increases previously offered by 60 per cent.
The union said terms discussed only a week earlier were similar to those previously agreed to by other inland ferry operators in 2024.
鈥淲estern Pacific Marine鈥檚 latest offer and the manner in which it was delivered is a flat-out insult to ferry workers and the Kootenays community they serve," said BCGEU president Paul Finch in a statement.
"To engage in months of bargaining, through job action and multiple Labour Board hearings, only to drastically change their position at the final hour shows that WPM never cared for anything other than their short-term profits."
The Nelson Star has requested comment from WPM.
The allegation is the latest obstacle in negotiations that began in May 2024 and started in earnest after workers went on strike Nov. 3. The Kootenay Lake, Harrop and Glade ferries remain in operations, but with reduced service.
In its statement, the BCGEU says it will consider filing charges with the B.C. Labour Relations Board but does not commit to further job action. The labour board previously in January that would have reduced service to Harrop, Procter and Glade, where the cable ferries are the only access routes in and out.
Residents of the impacted communities say the reduced service is and have expressed other concerns such as limited . The Regional District of Central Kootenay meanwhile to consider inland ferries an essential service.
