The union representing more than 9,000 workers at Canada's two biggest railways say public safety is at stake as contract negotiations temporarily ground to a halt last week, with a potential strike on the horizon. CN rail trains are shown at a train yard in Vaughan, Ont., on Monday, June 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
MONTREAL – The union representing more than 9,000 workers at Canada’s two biggest railways say public safety is at stake as contract negotiations ground to a halt this month, with a potential strike on the horizon.
On Friday, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. asked the federal government to lend a federal conciliator to the bargaining process over a new collective agreement for train conductors, engineers and yard workers.
The notice of dispute starts the clock on a possible strike or lockout, which could occur as soon as 81 days after, in early May.
François Laporte, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, says the two railroad operators aim to scrap key rest provisions from workers’ contracts in a move that could increase crew fatigue and put public safety at risk.
CN says recent regulatory changes have made it harder to find crews and necessitated a “modernization of the compensation model.”
CPKC says it has been negotiating in good faith since September and offered compensation boosts and more schedule predictability, but that the railway and the union “remain far apart on the issues.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX: CP)
