Post by Mill Bay on Apr 18, 2008 9:43:36 GMT -8
Now entering PT2 ASP zone (think twilight zone )
I decided to put this seperate from the general news article thread, because I feel it'll possibly turn into a topic on its own.
So, I'm not sure if this is the cue for the brass band and the patriotic music, or the theme for the Twilight Zone, but, the glorious independent corporation is entering its second performance term which has brought up some rather familiar and incomprehensible corporate language about the PT2 ASP Plan.
Ferry corporation ponders next move
Union says plan is to contract out various routes to create some operator competition
Paul Walton
Daily News
Friday, April 18, 2008
B.C. Ferries may no longer be a corporation, but they remain heavy on the use of corporate lingo as they forge ahead with contracting out various routes.
In what the former Crown corporation calls its "second performance term" it is moving into its "PT2 ASP Plan" that "addresses alternate service delivery (ASD)."
Roughly translated, B.C. Ferries is seeking to contract out various routes and create competition between ferry operators, including itself, in its second performance term that started April 1 and goes for four years.
The routes in question are Port Hardy-Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Islands-Prince Rupert, Mill Bay-Brentwood Bay, Buckley Bay-Denman Island and Hornby Island-Denman Island, Comox-Powell River and Powell River-Texada Island.
The Additional or Alternative Service Providers Plan adopts a formal tone with terms like "The PT2 ASP Plan," "the methodology used to select the routes," "proposals are solicited to undertake the full spectrum of operational services," "subcontracting model" and "proponents may wish to contract back to B.C. Ferries certain components of the ferry services."
B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union president Jackie Miller has deciphered the difficult language and said it only obscures how the contracting out process will work.
"If there is no intention to seek ASDs in a transparent way, why have that language? It creates instability in the fleet," said Miller.
The stated intention of the process is to increase efficiency, but Miller is puzzled since there are provisions for increased efficiencies and productivity in their collective agreement.
"They didn't need a new big piece of legislation destabilizing the ferry system to get that," she said.
Miller is also not aware there was consultation with any groups, including the union, about the legislation, though the plan promises public consultation as routes are privatized.
"They were determined to create what in effect is a holding company for the government."
The plan does include a proposal to do public consultation through local Ferry Advisory Committees. No consultation projects are listed as upcoming on the B.C. Ferry website.
The ferry company was to seek proposals in its first four-year term for its northern routes and the Mill-Bay-Brentwood route, which allows Island travellers to avoid the Malahat.
But the sinking of the Queen of the North, and an accident involving a propane truck that closed the Malahat several years ago stalled those plans. They are going ahead this term, but B.C. Ferries has released no details on possible contracts.
Other routes on the Island eyed for contracts in this four-year period include the Powell River-Comox and Powell River-Texada Island runs.
B.C. Ferries have had to present plans for those two routes to government but is still waiting to hear back. A freedom of information request for those plans by the union was rejected, said Miller, and she remains concerned about the lack of public consultation.
"Consultation is a good thing and one has to question why the Liberal government is afraid of it."
B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said plans for those upper Island routes are on hold until the government does respond. She said contracts for those runs are not pressing as the vessels are not as old as others in fleet.
"It's on hold and we're not going to pursue that until we hear back from the government," said Marshall.
The plan to contract out routes may be based on increased efficiency, but Miller said it appears that B.C. Ferries is failing to take into account instability and uncertainty that will result. And Miller said that any route can be deregulated if it begins to earn enough money that it no longer requires provincial funding. And, Miller said, that could even apply to routes that begin to pay for themselves.
Miller is shocked that the government appears headed toward slowly deregulating ferry service through its ASD plan.
"This is exactly why W.A.C. Bennett created the B.C. Ferry Bridge and Toll Authority in the first place," she said. "We're turning the clock back with no transparency, no authority."
Miller calls the current ferry structure a private unaccountable monopoly. She said the union has sought a detailed cost-analysis breakdown for each route, as was in the original Coastal Ferry Service Contract, and the company has refused to provide details. "What does the rest of the second performance term look like?" she asked.
Looking through piles of documents from the company, Miller said it's no wonder that the public is asking few questions about what they have released. "They made it very complicated so people would turn a blind eye," she said.
Five years after the Coastal Ferry Act was implemented, said Miller, the act is becoming redundant as fuel, labour and capital costs soar, and the shortage of skilled workers continues. She thinks the company is bound for big trouble if the act is not changed to reflect these new realities.
"They would have a lot of support if they were to re-evaluate the act, things have changed dramatically."
PWalton@nanaimodailynews.com
© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2008
I decided to put this seperate from the general news article thread, because I feel it'll possibly turn into a topic on its own.
So, I'm not sure if this is the cue for the brass band and the patriotic music, or the theme for the Twilight Zone, but, the glorious independent corporation is entering its second performance term which has brought up some rather familiar and incomprehensible corporate language about the PT2 ASP Plan.
Ferry corporation ponders next move
Union says plan is to contract out various routes to create some operator competition
Paul Walton
Daily News
Friday, April 18, 2008
B.C. Ferries may no longer be a corporation, but they remain heavy on the use of corporate lingo as they forge ahead with contracting out various routes.
In what the former Crown corporation calls its "second performance term" it is moving into its "PT2 ASP Plan" that "addresses alternate service delivery (ASD)."
Roughly translated, B.C. Ferries is seeking to contract out various routes and create competition between ferry operators, including itself, in its second performance term that started April 1 and goes for four years.
The routes in question are Port Hardy-Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Islands-Prince Rupert, Mill Bay-Brentwood Bay, Buckley Bay-Denman Island and Hornby Island-Denman Island, Comox-Powell River and Powell River-Texada Island.
The Additional or Alternative Service Providers Plan adopts a formal tone with terms like "The PT2 ASP Plan," "the methodology used to select the routes," "proposals are solicited to undertake the full spectrum of operational services," "subcontracting model" and "proponents may wish to contract back to B.C. Ferries certain components of the ferry services."
B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union president Jackie Miller has deciphered the difficult language and said it only obscures how the contracting out process will work.
"If there is no intention to seek ASDs in a transparent way, why have that language? It creates instability in the fleet," said Miller.
The stated intention of the process is to increase efficiency, but Miller is puzzled since there are provisions for increased efficiencies and productivity in their collective agreement.
"They didn't need a new big piece of legislation destabilizing the ferry system to get that," she said.
Miller is also not aware there was consultation with any groups, including the union, about the legislation, though the plan promises public consultation as routes are privatized.
"They were determined to create what in effect is a holding company for the government."
The plan does include a proposal to do public consultation through local Ferry Advisory Committees. No consultation projects are listed as upcoming on the B.C. Ferry website.
The ferry company was to seek proposals in its first four-year term for its northern routes and the Mill-Bay-Brentwood route, which allows Island travellers to avoid the Malahat.
But the sinking of the Queen of the North, and an accident involving a propane truck that closed the Malahat several years ago stalled those plans. They are going ahead this term, but B.C. Ferries has released no details on possible contracts.
Other routes on the Island eyed for contracts in this four-year period include the Powell River-Comox and Powell River-Texada Island runs.
B.C. Ferries have had to present plans for those two routes to government but is still waiting to hear back. A freedom of information request for those plans by the union was rejected, said Miller, and she remains concerned about the lack of public consultation.
"Consultation is a good thing and one has to question why the Liberal government is afraid of it."
B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said plans for those upper Island routes are on hold until the government does respond. She said contracts for those runs are not pressing as the vessels are not as old as others in fleet.
"It's on hold and we're not going to pursue that until we hear back from the government," said Marshall.
The plan to contract out routes may be based on increased efficiency, but Miller said it appears that B.C. Ferries is failing to take into account instability and uncertainty that will result. And Miller said that any route can be deregulated if it begins to earn enough money that it no longer requires provincial funding. And, Miller said, that could even apply to routes that begin to pay for themselves.
Miller is shocked that the government appears headed toward slowly deregulating ferry service through its ASD plan.
"This is exactly why W.A.C. Bennett created the B.C. Ferry Bridge and Toll Authority in the first place," she said. "We're turning the clock back with no transparency, no authority."
Miller calls the current ferry structure a private unaccountable monopoly. She said the union has sought a detailed cost-analysis breakdown for each route, as was in the original Coastal Ferry Service Contract, and the company has refused to provide details. "What does the rest of the second performance term look like?" she asked.
Looking through piles of documents from the company, Miller said it's no wonder that the public is asking few questions about what they have released. "They made it very complicated so people would turn a blind eye," she said.
Five years after the Coastal Ferry Act was implemented, said Miller, the act is becoming redundant as fuel, labour and capital costs soar, and the shortage of skilled workers continues. She thinks the company is bound for big trouble if the act is not changed to reflect these new realities.
"They would have a lot of support if they were to re-evaluate the act, things have changed dramatically."
PWalton@nanaimodailynews.com
© The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2008