BC Ferries: Giving away $1mil in bonuses to employees

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Well said smurf! But for as long as the taxpayer will deny it, it will keep on happening, unless there's a way a single citizen alone can make it change!

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It will be interesting to see her findings.

NDP ferries critic sets sail to Washington State on voyage to compare ferry systems

BY MICHAEL SMYTH, THE PROVINCE OCTOBER 13, 2013


In this Dec. 8, 2003, file photo, a Washington state ferry emerges from a fog bank on Puget Sound near Bainbridge Island. NDP ferries critic Claire Trevena will set sail to Washington State on Monday to compare that ferry system with B.C.'s.
Photograph by: Elaine Thompson , The Associated Press
One of the big differences between the B.C. and Washington state ferry systems was evident to Claire Trevena when she calculated the travel budget for her fact-finding trip south of the border.

The NDP MLA departs Monday for several destinations in Washington, where she will contrast and compare the two ferry systems.

The trip will include stops in ferry-dependent communities and 10 meetings with state legislators, ferry administrators, union officials and user groups.

Travel will be by car and the Washington state ferry system.

Her total budget for ferry fares during the five-day trip: about $170.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, that says a lot right there,’” the NDP ferries critic said.

“Look at the difference in fares alone. You can burn through $170 very quickly aboard B.C. Ferries, never mind finance a five-day journey.”

Too true. Consider that a family of four travelling between Vancouver and Victoria this Thanksgiving weekend would face a return-fare cost of more than $200, including reservation fees.

“I want to get a sense of what Washington is doing differently and how they can do it a lot cheaper than us,” Trevena said.

Some of the indicators she’ll look at include fares, government subsidies, the cost of union contracts, management and governance structures, and compensation paid to top executives.

That last one will surely provide one of the most startling contrasts between the two systems.

As examined in detail in previous columns, Washington state ferry executives make a fraction of what B.C.’s ferry bosses rake in.

Last year, B.C. Ferries president Michael Corrigan was paid $544,207 in base salary, bonuses, two pensions and a vehicle allowance. Additional compensation boosted his total 2012 package to $563,000.

David Moseley, the head of Washington State Ferries, received $165,943 in salary and state pension contributions, with no bonus and no vehicle allowance. (All figures in Canadian dollars).

So Corrigan made 239 per cent more than Moseley, even though his Washington counterpart runs a ferry system that carries about four million more passengers and vehicles each year.

The discrepancies are even larger as you look down the executive food chain. B.C. Ferries’ other senior executives banked nearly $500,000 each last year, including six-figure bonuses, while the top Washington ferry executives reporting to Moseley made just under $132,000.

“People are very aware of executive pay at B.C. Ferries and they want something done about it,” Trevena said. “I’m hearing that very strongly.”

The government wants something done about it, too.

Last month, Transportation Minister Todd Stone gave B.C. Ferries a 30-day deadline to bring executive bonus-bingeing under control, saying the corporation was violating the spirit of the government’s executive wage freeze.

The deadline came and went last week.

“They asked for a little bit more time,” Stone explained. “I understand that they’ll have more to report to me and to British Columbians in the very near future.”

Trevena is not impressed.

“The minister drew a line in the sand and the B.C. Ferries board rubbed it out with their toe,” she joked.

The NDP has called on the government take direct control of B.C. Ferries by amending the Coastal Ferry Act and placing legal restrictions on executive raises and bonuses.

B.C. Ferries is a private company that acts independently of government, even though the government still technically owns it.

And that’s another big difference with Washington state, where the head of the ferry system reports to the governor and the budget is set by the state legislature.

More than 3,000 people have signed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s online petition calling on the government to re-assume control of B.C. Ferries and limit executive compensation.

“The myth that B.C. needs to pay competitively to get the best and the brightest into executive jobs here no longer holds any water — we are overpaying the market, plain and simple,” Bateman said.

“The best way to rein in reckless spending is to make the spenders accountable. Let’s change the law and make it happen.”

But, so far, the government has shown no interest in re-taking direct control of B.C. Ferries, even as fares and executive salaries continue to rise and the corporation considers $26 million in service cuts to control costs.

“It’s hurting the coastal economy,” Trevena argued. “The resource sector. Tourism. It’s all getting squeezed by ferry fares.

“I talk to people who tell me they won’t travel to the Island because they can’t afford it. They’ll drive to the Interior for a vacation instead.”

As Trevena begins her voyage of discovery, there will be critics who say it’s unfair to compare the B.C. and Washington ferry systems. After all, the Washington ferry routes are shorter and concentrated largely in the sheltered waters of Puget Sound, while B.C. deals with longer, open-water routes.

“It’s still a fair comparison,” she said. “They’re our neighbours and they face many of the same issues and challenges we do.”

I asked B.C. Ferries what they thought of her trip.

“We have no comment at this time,” a spokesperson told me. Not surprising for a corporation feeling pressure from the public and a government that seems compelled to do something — it’s just not sure what.

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A FAIR DEAL FOR FERRIES BOSSES?

Michael Corrigan, President, B.C. Ferries

Time in position: 22 months

Annual salary: $364,000

Performance bonus: $64,421

Pension plan: $75,509

Supplemental executive pension plan: $31,800

Vehicle allowance: $8,477

TOTAL: $544,207

David Moseley, Director, Washington State Ferries

Time in position: 5 years

Annual salary: $151,949

Performance bonus: None

Pension plan: $13,994

Supplemental executive pension plan: None

Vehicle allowance: None

TOTAL: $165,943

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