BC Ferries highlights improvements towards Employee Safety Program

BC Ferries has released a report towards the work they are taking on to
improve on relations with their workforce 
(image from BC Ferries report)

British Columbia Ferries has provided their employees and those who travel on their vessels with a snapshot of some of their in house Employment Safety Program. 

That after relations between the Transportation Corporation and its employees have been through some rough seas in the last few years coming out of COVID.

As we noted in December2023, negotiations for the current round of labour talks were marked by less than friendly salutations, a situation somewhat reflective of the mood on the vessels in recent months.

The information page from the BC Mariner Workers Union, charting some of the nature of the challenges to the worker/employer narrative. 

Last week, BC Ferries outlined how they were prioritizing Employee well being, with an information statement charting some of that path towards hopefully better relations.

“We’re a people business at our core, and it was critical that we hear what safety at work means to them, the challenges they face and the improvements they want to see. The actions we’re taking will put people’s interests first through a holistic approach that addresses physical, psychological and emotional workplace safety.” -- Nicolas Jimenez, President and CEO.

BC Ferries notes that it will be a multi year process to implement, but that work is already underway to address five key areas where staff indicated work was required.

Those areas include:

Workforce Planning and Support
Supervisor and Manager Leadership Training
New Hire Orientation
Internal Communication 
Access to Information Formal Mentoring Program

The update follows up on the SailSafe Engagement Report and the Recommendations from that document released in December of 2023.

The Introduction and Conclusion to the 20 pages of findings providing a glimpse towards how they plan to address a number of concerns that came out of their information gathering sessions and other  areas of research with their employees.

click on above to enlarge 

You can review the full Report here.

BC Ferries schedule was impacted significantly last summer by challenges in staffing vessels, that led to a number of cancellations on some of the most popular routes of the south, as well as vital local runs for other coastal communities.

More notes related to BC Ferries on the North and Central Coasts, as well as Haida Gwaii can be reviewed through our archive page.