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Public health officials on March 31 banned all indoor dining at restaurants in the province for at least three weeks, but the order did not include the cafeterias and food-service operations in the ferry system.
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VICTORIA — The union representing B.C. Ferries workers is renewing its call to the province to vaccinate crews on the company’s vessels.
Public health officials on March 31 banned all indoor dining at restaurants in the province for at least three weeks, but the order didn’t include the cafeterias and food-service operations in the ferry system.
With ferry traffic picking up substantially over the Easter long weekend and on-board dining still allowed, the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union said its workers are at risk as new COVID-19 cases surge.
Union president Graeme Johnston called it “shameful.”
“My members deem it a high risk,” he said.
The public health order that exempts B.C. Ferries has been criticized by the restaurant industry as a double standard. Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming has said physical distancing and safety protocols remain on ferries and that it was important to continue food services, noting some sailings last longer than four hours.
The ferry union wants vaccinations for its members or a stop to food service. It was disappointed to learn last month that ferry workers weren’t included in the province’s front-line workers eligible for vaccinations. That group included first-responders, teachers and child-care providers, grocery store employees and postal workers.
“We wrote Dr. Bonnie Henry back on Jan. 19 about this … and we have never heard back,” said Johnston.
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