B.C. Ferries workers to see wage increase

Workers are not restricted to government’s ‘net-zero’ mandate

B.C. Ferries employees will receive a 6.25 per cent wage increase as part of the deal reached between the union representing the workers and the company, a B.C. Ferries spokesperson told the Times Colonist.

About 3,700 members of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union agreed to continue the existing collective agreement with no wage increase in April 2011 and 2012.

The raises will be allocated as follows:

  • October 2012 – 1.0 per cent
  • April 2013 – 1.5 per cent
  • April 2014 – 1.75 per cent
  • April 2015 – 2.0 per cent

The deal was signed in February, but not publicly discussed in detail,.

"Certainly for us, it's a fair agreement and it provides stability for the travelling public," B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall told the paper. "Both the company and union worked hard… It was a joint process to get this extension. We're very happy about it."

The announcement of the deal comes as tension in B.C.’s public sector increases. The province is currently in negotiations with approximately 25,000 public sector workers who are planning to take a strike vote later in April. The government has said new contracts can contain wage increases, but only through “co-operative gains.” That is, if savings or increased revenue can be found somewhere else within the sector, wages can go up.

B.C. Ferries used to be a federally-owned corporation, but it was transformed in 2003 into a private company. While it remains funded mostly by taxpayer subsidies, it is not subject to government wage restrictions.

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