GATINEAU, Quebec — With the threat of a national strike looming, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference will resume negotiations on Wednesday, Aug. 8, with the assistance of federal mediators, Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said today.
MacKinnon and Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez today met with CN, CPKC, and Teamsters representatives to try to prevent a strike, which could come later this month.
The union, which represents engineers and conductors on both railways, as well as rail traffic controllers on CPKC, has authorized a strike against CN and CPKC. The Canadian National Industrial Relations Board has said that it will issue a decision by Friday on what commodities will be deemed essential and will be required to move during any work stoppage. That ruling could start the clock ticking on a 72-hour strike notice.
“Since I’ve been appointed as minister of labour, I’ve not been satisfied that parties share the urgency that Canadians feel around these disputes, and obviously we want to see a renewed commitment to bargaining,” MacKinnon told reporters, the Canadian Press reported.
The union said the goal of the meeting was to discuss increasing the pace and frequency of discussions at both railways. “All parties agreed to the request and will meet on Wednesday in Montreal and Calgary. Our goal is — and has always been — to bargain agreements with both companies,” the union said in a statement.
The union says that contract talks had slowed after the federal government temporarily suspended workers’ right to strike, pending the CIRB ruling.
“It bears repeating that the main sticking points are company demands, not union proposals,” the TCRC said. “Both companies want concessions on issues pertaining to crew scheduling, rail safety, and fatigue management.”
CPKC, in a statement issued this afternoon, said it aims to avoid a work stoppage.
“CPKC highlighted its strong desire to avoid a work stoppage on our Canadian rail network, which would be damaging to the interests of all stakeholders. We reviewed the multiple offers proposed to the TCRC to date and our desire to continue negotiations in good faith. We committed to meeting with the TCRC this week to continue bargaining and we remain hopeful that renewed agreements can be reached,” the railway said.
CPKC said it has made two offers to the TCRC, both of which provide “significant benefits for our employees and fully comply with new regulatory requirements for rest.” The contract offers don’t compromise safety, CPKC says, adding: “To say or suggest otherwise is patently false.”
CPKC also reiterated its standing offer to move talks to binding arbitration should negotiations be unsuccessful.
“We value the engagement from the ministers given the magnitude of what is at stake for Canadians, Canada’s economy and international reputation, our employees (both those represented by the TCRC and all other employees), our customers and their employees, and supply chains across North America,” CPKC said. “We share the federal government’s desire to avoid a damaging work stoppage and restore stability to our supply chains.”
CN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
