CRU: Canadian government orders halt to rail stoppage

Written by CRU

Canada’s government has ordered an end to the brief rail stoppage which threatened to disrupt the movement of commodities.

Trains operated by Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) are expected to start running again within days, Reuters quoted Canada’s Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon as saying.

The two rail companies had locked out more than 9,000 workers who are part of the Teamsters union after they were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement over issues related to scheduling, labor availability, and work-life balance.

The Canadian government on Aug. 22 said it would ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to issue a back-to-work order.

CN said the same day it had ended its lockout and initiated a recovery plan.

CPKC said that the resumption of its services would be delayed pending the result of the CIRB back-to-work order. The board is independent and must first consult workers represented by the Teamsters union, which is planning to challenge the constitutionality of the Canadian government’s order.

The union issued a strike notice to CN Rail just before 10 a.m. on Friday, stating, “We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable and we remain available for discussion in order to resolve this matter without a further work stoppage.”

The CIRB was set to meet with the union and CPKC officials later on Friday.

This article was first published by CRU. To learn more about CRU’s services, visit www.crugroup.com.