Canada’s two largest railways are officially on strike in an unprecedented shutdown as Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. failed to reach an agreement with their employees’ union past the midnight deadline.
Union employee rest time, scheduling and wages were at issue during the negotiations.
“Despite months of good faith negotiations on the part of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, parties remain far apart, and both CN and CPKC have begun their lockout of 00:01 today,” said Teamsters Canada, the union representing the employees for both companies in a post to X.
CN Rail also released a statement saying that “without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout” after the Teamsters “union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labour disruption”
“This offer improved wages and would have seen employees work less days in a month by aligning hours of service in the collective agreement with federally mandated rest provisions. The offer also proposed a pilot project for hourly rates and scheduled shifts on a portion of the network as CN continues to believe this is a better and more predictable framework for our employees,” wrote CN.
The two railway companies locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers as of midnight on Thursday and the work stoppage is likely to create major supply chain disruptions across Canada, affecting industries like agriculture, mining, forestry and public health.
“Throughout nearly a year of negotiations, CPKC has remained committed to doing its part to avoid this work stoppage. CPKC has bargained in good faith, but despite our best efforts, it is clear that a negotiated outcome with the TCRC is not within reach,” said CPKC in a statement released on Thursday.
A source who wished to remain anonymous told True North that the union offered to stagger labour action to both companies, which refused at the same time, which the source alleged to be an act of collusion and “union busting.”
The two rail companies haul a combined $1 billion worth of goods daily, transporting everything from cars and clothing to food and raw materials.
CN Rail started to embargo hazardous goods, including toxic materials, chlorine and ammonia from the U.S. last week in anticipation of the strike.
CPKC also said it would be temporarily banning traffic of such goods to ensure that no trains carrying them become stranded on the tracks ahead of Thursday’s deadline.
Now over 32,000 rail commuters across Canada will also have to find alternate routes to the office due to CPKC work stoppage.
Commuter lines affected by the strike are TransLink’s West Coast Express in the Vancouver area, Metrolinx’s Milton line and the Lakeshore line’s Hamilton GO station in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as Exo’s Candiac, Saint-Jérôme and Vaudreuil/Hudson lines in the Montreal area.
Additionally, those who use Via Rail’s 480-kilometre Sudbury to White River line in Northern Ontario will be forced to find another means of travel.
“Since the beginning, CN has sought a fair deal for employees, consumers, and its customers,” media relations director Jonathan Abecassis told True North in an email.
“We have made four offers to the Teamsters. Offers that improved safety, increased wages, and provided employees with better schedules and predictability and opportunities to work. Offers that would avoid the shut down of the Canadian economy.”
“Any statement to the contrary is false and intended to mislead from the real issue: the Teamsters inability or unwillingness to negotiate seriously,” he added.
However, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Paul Boucher said that CN was demanding concessions that would have brought employees back to “another era” regarding safety provisions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the two parties to come to an agreement without federal intervention.
“My message has been straightforward. It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Teamsters Canada argues that it was never its intention to go on strike and that this was a result of both rail companies refusing to offer a “safer and more humane” industry for employees to work in.
“Since the outset, rail workers have only ever sought a fair and equitable agreement. Unfortunately, both rail companies are demanding concessions that could tear families apart or jeopardize rail safety,” Christopher Monette, director of public affairs for Teamsters Canada told True North.
“Rail workers have fought for a safer and more humane industry for decades, and we will not accept moving backwards.”
According to Monette, CN is demanding extended workdays in all provinces west of Ontario as well as implementing a forced relocation scheme, which would mandate workers to have to move across the country to fill labour shortages wherever necessary.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated ot include statements from CN, CPKC and TCRC.
