Private B.C. ferries are a disaster waiting to happen

Rusted fire equipment poses danger on 22 ferries, says BCFMWU report

Vancouver - A B.C. Ferry and Marine Union Workers' Union (BCFMWU) report says privately-operated West Coast ferries are unsafe because of corroded firefighting systems. The B.C. ferry fleet was privatized last year by the Liberal government of Premier Gordon Campbell and is now run by a private company called B.C. Ferries.
	Westray law cited
Carbon-dioxide (CO2) firefighting equipment on many ferries is so badly rusted, or poorly installed and maintained, that it could fail to work or even explode in case of a fire, the report says. The union is an affiliate of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU), which is a component of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). The report was compiled by two BCFMWU engineers, employed by B.C. Ferries, after the company and regulatory officials refused to address safety issues raised by the union. "The report is a comprehensive review of approximately 22 vessels in our fleet and is made up from over 700 photographs that were taken by two of our engineers," says BCFMWU president Jackie Miller. 'Extremely alarming' She said the information was gathered by two engineers from the ships officers' component of the union after the company failed to respond to union requests for information on an investigation conducted by company management.

The findings were released Monday by the BCFMWU.

"The engineers found some extremely alarming conditions in the CO2 compartments, in their systems, and we felt it was absolutely vital that we find some way to make this known," Miller said.

"The concern that the ferry workers have, and the workers in general at B.C. Ferries, is that now that the company is private, and no longer subject to the scrutiny of the Auditor-General, or the Freedom of Information or Protection of Privacy Acts, there is very little access to information about public safety issues," she said.

"We felt it was important that we put together this review of what we feel is one of the most important public safety issues on the ferries."

Miller said Transport Canada inspects ferries adequately but is not doing enough to protect public safety.

"We take issue with Transport Canada not taking some substantive action regarding the CO2 systems amongst other issues regarding operational safety," she said.

'Irresponsible'

"We have a venue through which we would normally address those issues and that is the Canadian Marine Advisory Council. We attempted to raise these issues with them and they said it was a union-management, one-company issue. B.C. Ferries is the only ferry fleet on the West Coast and we find that sort of attitude on the part of Transport Canada officials irresponsible."

Miller dismissed accusations by David Hahn, the head of B.C. Ferries that the report was issued by the union to influence collective bargaining.

"We're in a situation where we're in binding arbitration with the arbitrator," Miller said.

"This has nothing to do with negotiations, which are not taking place. Binding arbitration is an ongoing issue and will probably go on for several months. I'm going to be very interested to hear what excuse David Hahn comes up with when we do have a signed collective agreement and the ferry workers again have to raise an alert about a safety issue.

"He's running out of excuses. It is wholly irresponsible of the company and of the regulatory bodies not to address these serious public safety issues."

Miller said private companies are now subject to serious charges if they fail to ensure proper safety requirements.

Westray law

"We are now bound by Criminal Code changes that were enacted out of the Westray Mine disaster (in Nova Scotia)," she noted.

"It found that regulatory authorities, management within the company, and government officials, kept covered for many years potential safety problems at Westray Mine, and it resulted in the death of 26 people."

More information:
• BCFMWU report on CO2 systems2" f - pdf version
• B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union
• Tired Iron: B.C.'s aging ferry fleet

Web posted by NUPGE: 9 March 2004

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