BC Ferries worker absenteeism has more than doubled since pre-COVID
Posted July 19, 2022 10:37 am.
Last Updated July 19, 2022 10:38 am.
BC Ferries says recent sailing cancellations and service delays have been largely due to more workers calling in sick.
Deborah Marshall with BC Ferries says employee absenteeism has more than doubled since before the COVID pandemic. It normally hovers around five or six per cent, but lately it’s been up to 11 per cent.
She says that means as many as 500 employees may be unavailable at any given time.
About 1,000 new employees have been hired by BC Ferries since January, according to Marshall.
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She adds the company has also recalled about two thirds of the 150 people who were previously put on leave without pay due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Last month, the union representing BC Ferries workers said it was not optimistic the move would make much of a difference in the company’s issues.
BC Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union President Eric McNeely said recruitment hasn’t kept pace with retirements over the past three years.
“We’re having members who are leaving to more competitive marine carriers. In some cases, 12- or 15-year employees are deciding now’s the right time to go somewhere else,” McNeely said, adding many competing employers will offer higher salaries.
Last month, more than a dozen sailings on the Queen of Coquitlam were cancelled over eight days. It was part of a larger issue of ferry cancellations and service delays. Passenger frustrations have been high, with the busy summer travel season well underway.
At the end of May, BC Ferries was even offering a significant signing bonus of $10,000 for some roles to encourage workers to join the team.
The company has previously stated it is not only competing locally, adding the world is seeing a mariner shortage, with many other companies also facing the same woes.
With files from Claire Fenton
