Railway workers who demand more rest time They were approaching a strike that would disrupt supply chains from Halifax to Vancouver and across the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.
A union, which represents more than 9 thousand employees of Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City said workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of labor action to pressure companies to include provisions to combat crew fatigue in their collective bargaining agreements.
The strike could begin on May 22 if an agreement is not reached, which would interrupt the transportation of products (including carscoal, consumer goods, fertilizers, cereals, minerals and oil) as well as commuter services, which are run by the affected drivers, train drivers, shipyard workers and rail traffic controllers.
“The simultaneous work stoppage at CN and CPKC would disrupt supply chains on a scale that Canada has probably never experienced,” Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said at a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa.
Boucher said the union will return to the negotiating table and “do everything in our power to reach a fair agreement for our members.”
The two railway giants represent almost the 90 percent of industry revenue and more than three quarters of the total tonnage transported by the sector.
Both companies said they are working to reach an agreement to avoid a work stoppage and warned that a strike would cause a impact beyond the Canadian border.
“It would disrupt essential supply chains across North America and significantly limit trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico,” Canadian Pacific said in a statement. The passenger rail services on its network in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver “will not be able to operate either.”
Canadian National said it “maintains a cautious outlook on closing a deal ahead of a labor disruption that would impact the Canadian supply chain, the North American economy and our employees.”
Share prices for both companies continued to fall on May 1: CN Rail fell 0.2 percent, while Canadian Pacific had fallen approximately 0.1 percent as of 3:00 p.m. in Ottawa.
Canadian Pacific said it had made two offers to union leaders with significant benefits, salary increases and full compliance with regulatory requirements for rest. “They do not compromise security in any way. Saying or suggesting otherwise is false,” the company stated.
Canadian National said the union rejected an offer based on an hourly rate and a schedule that included wage increases, consecutive scheduled days offprovisions for no layoffs and reduced hours away from home.
Boucher said in an interview that union demands and company offers “are extremely far apart” on time off, but he declined to discuss pay issues.
“We want to negotiate. We want to achieve a negotiated agreement before May 22 and the ball is in the companies’ court. “We didn’t want to go down this path.”
The parties now begin a mandatory 21-day mediation period with federal mediators.
Transport Minister Pablo Rodríguez said the Canadian government was concerned and urged the parties to negotiate in good faith. “The best deals are made around the table,” he said.
There is a lot at stake not only for Canada, but for the entire continent, added Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan.
“The ramifications of this are not lost on me. This is something I’ve been keeping an eye on for months and months and months. But now cooler heads prevail. And you know, we have good people who are helping them reach that agreement,” she said.
