A new ruling by the B.C. Labour Relations Board allows for more passengers to board the Kootenay Lake ferry during the ongoing strike.
The Nov. 27 decision expands the criteria for who can board the few ferries still running, and it adds weekend sailings to the schedule.
Previously, the labour board ruled that the only people allowed onto the three ferries per weekday, in additional to "legitimate emergencies determined by the employer," were passengers who could show they had a medical appointment or other health-related requirement, people operating medical services on the East Shore, students crossing to attend classes, those students' parents or guardians for the purpose of pick-up or drop-off, and school teachers and administrators crossing to get to work.
The employer, Western Pacific Marine, appealed those criteria to the labour board on the basis they are too restrictive. The board agreed and added a further item to the criteria listed above. It now allows ferries, once the passengers in the categories listed above have boarded, to fill up with regular traffic.
"After ensuring that passengers and vehicles meeting the criteria (in the previous ruling) have boarded, other passengers and vehicles may board the ferry on a first come first served basis, provided there is sufficient capacity on the ferry," the ruling states.
The new criteria also adds two weekend sailings, up from none in the previous order. The timing of these will be confirmed soon.
On weekdays, return-trip ferries leave Balfour for the Kootenay Bay terminal at 6:30 and 8:10 a.m. and at 4:30 p.m., unchanged with the new labour order.
“We are pleased with this decision as the amended essential services order will help reduce the challenges our community has faced during this period of limited ferry service," said Odai Sirri, general manager of Western Pacific Marine in a news release.
"We always believed that the travelling public had a right to sail during strike action, and knowing that the LRB agrees is a significant decision.”
Eighty members of the B.C. General Employees Union working on the ferry service run by Western Pacific Marine have been on strike since Nov. 3. The Nelson Star has reached out to the union for comment.
