Canada has entered into an unprecedented lockout at its major railway companies, a move that could bring various sectors of the economy to a halt amid a wave of worker complaints about poor working conditions.
Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway Kansas City (CPKC) initiated a lockout of about 9,000 workers on Thursday morning after tense negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
CN Confirmed The company is going ahead with the lockout, saying the union “did not respond to alternative proposals put forward by CN in a final attempt to avoid labor disputes.”
“Absent an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to complete a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with the lockout.”
The union said: “Despite months of good faith negotiations by the Teamsters Canadian Railway Council, the parties remain far apart and both CN and CPKC initiated a lockout at 00:01 today…Despite the lockout, the Teamsters remain at the negotiating table with both companies.”
In a statement, CPKC said: “TCRC [union] Management continues to make unrealistic demands that will fundamentally undermine the railroad’s ability to provide reliable, cost-competitive transportation services to its customers.”
The freight halt would have a knock-on effect across Canada and the United States. The affected railroads move more than C$1 billion ($740,000) worth of freight every day, according to the Canadian Railway Association. Nearly half of the aviation fuel used at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, Canada’s busiest airport terminal, is transported by rail. More than 32,000 commuters in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto depend on the rail network. The strike would also hit the mining, agriculture and retail industries.
Federal Labour Minister Stephen McKinnon said: On Wednesday night, he announced he had just finished meetings with the companies and the Teamsters union, calling for urgency at the negotiating table to reach an agreement.
Calgary-based CPKC and Montreal-based CN have recently begun downsizing. Both companies are estimated to be worth roughly C$100 billion in Canada, own most of the country’s rail lines and control most of the country’s freight traffic. They have never been hit by labor strikes at the same time in Canada.
As the possibility of a strike loomed, industry groups issued a joint statement calling on the government to intervene, saying “it has a responsibility to protect Canadians and maintain our national security, and now is the time to take decisive action to meet that obligation.”
Labour Minister MacKinnon last week rejected a request from CN and CPKC to move negotiations to binding arbitration. “These collective bargaining agreements are between CN Rail, CPKC and [Teamsters] “It’s not just workers who are affected, the impacts will be borne by all Canadians,” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that the country’s two largest railroads and the Teamsters, a national railroad workers union, needed to resolve their differences at the negotiating table, but he gave no indication that the government might intervene.
“My message is very clear: it is in the best interests of both sides to continue to work hard at the negotiating table to find a negotiated solution,” Trudeau said. “Millions of Canadians, workers, farmers and businesses across the country expect both sides to work hard and find a solution.”
“I know the best agreements will be reached at the negotiating table, and I call on employers and unions to work hard to get an agreement done,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
The union representing CPKC workers says the company “wants to remove all safety-critical fatigue provisions from the collective bargaining agreement,” while CN workers claim the railroad wants to extend the work day in the western states, creating “fatigue-related safety risks.” The union has cited fatigue management, rest periods and schedules as its main points of contention.
The companies said the proposals presented were competitive and would not compromise safety.
