Union sounds alarm over Halifax Transit ferry operator shortage

Halifax Transit staffing shortages are still being felt, as service interruptions continue across the city. 

Halifax Transit staffing shortages are still being felt as service interruptions continue across the city.

The union that represents ferry operators is sounding the alarm, saying workers are burnt out and cannot keep up with demand.

“(Staff) are not getting as much time with their family because they’re working a lot of overtime,” said Ray MacKenzie, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508.

“That happened on the weekend as well. One of the deckhands called off sick and nobody was there to fill in. People worked overtime all week.”

Ferry service was cancelled on one route during rush hour Tuesday morning. That’s in addition to one cancellation on the weekend due to staffing shortages.

“That’s not good. We need more staff,” said Coun. Tony Mancini, who represents District 6 in Dartmouth.

“We’ve been hiring. We added it to the budget this year. And hopefully, we can reduce those types of pain when it comes to our ferry service.”

There’s a sense of urgency to fix the problem because a long-awaited project to add a Bedford ferry connection to the transit system is expected to be completed in the 2027-28 fiscal year.