Click here to download “Fix our Ferries” flyer (PDF)
Wolfe Island and Glenora ferry workers from OPSEU/SEFPO Local 428, and labour allies will hold an information picket at the Wolfe Island ferry dock in Kingston, Ontario to call for an end to the service disruptions and cancellations caused by understaffing.
- DATE: Friday, October 7, 2022
- TIME: 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- LOCATION: Kingston Ferry Terminal office, 295 Highway 2, Kingston, Ontario
- MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/ku4UqUsfibnQaD6b7
Ferry services have been canceled, delayed, and reduced, causing hours-long line-ups due to a manufactured staffing shortage. Wolfe Island residents have been trapped on the island for up to 12 hours at a time with no way to leave, even for emergencies or work. Glenora Ferry was forced to cancel 15-minute service at the height of tourism season this summer, causing hour-long delays for passengers.
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 428 will inform ferry passengers and the public that long wait times and inconsistent (sometimes cancelled) ferry services are caused by Ford’s Bill 124 (which caps public sector wages at below inflation for three years) and the MTO’s decades-long suppression of employee wages. Wolfe Island and Glenora Ferry crew are drastically underpaid in comparison to the rest of the marine industry, causing severe recruitment and retention issues.
To add insult to injury, the MTO recently contracted out ferry work to Reliance Offshore, an out-of-province temporary agency, instead of offering better-paid employment to MTO staff. The temporary agency charges up to twice as much per hour as unionized Ministry staff earn. It is a huge waste of public funds on a temporary band-aid solution that doesn’t fix our ferry system or provide decent employment opportunities to our community.
Tell Premier Ford and Transportation Minister Mulroney:
- Fix our ferries: stop the service disruptions caused by understaffing.
- MTO must honour their collective agreement with OPSEU Local 428. Stop wasting money on expensive private temp agencies. Hire permanent MTO ferry workers to work and live in our communities instead.
- Repeal Bill 124 which has imposed a 3-year wage cut on ferry workers during high inflation, and pay them fair, competitive wages.
Contact them today:
Hon. Doug Ford
Premier
416-325-1941
doug.fordco@pc.ola.org
Hon. Caroline Mulroney
Minister of Transportation
905-895-1555
caroline.mulroney@pc.ola.org
Download a petition to the Ontario Legislature:
Click here to download a petition to the Ontario Legislature – please mail original copies to the address on the petition form. (Only original signatures are accepted by the Ontario Legislature.)