Union files unfair labour practice complaint against BC Ferries amid ‘tense’ negotiations

The BCFerry and Marine Workers' Union has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the BC Labour Relations Board, accusing the employer of bargaining directly with members.

With just days to go before the busy holiday travel season, a bitter labour dispute between BC Ferries and its union has spilled into public view.

The BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union has filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the BC Labour Relations Board, accusing the employer of bargaining directly with members and defaming union leadership.

“(We’re) also seeking to address the impact of that communication language and the challenges that’s created within the union and the membership,” union president Eric McNeely told Global News.

“Right now is a uniquely tense time.”

The 14-page complaint alleges BC Ferries undertook a “concerted campaign” to undermine the union’s bargaining power and reputation with its members.

It claims the company bargained directly with a faction of union membership, providing them with benefits in the form of housing in remote communities that wasn’t covered by their collective agreement, and without the union’s awareness.

It claims that when the union challenged that action, the company withdrew the benefit and blamed union leadership. It further claims the company ended negotiations over a mid-contract wage increase and similarly blamed union leadership for workers not getting a pre-Christmas raise.

“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,” the complaint alleges.