Rail service at CN and CPKC must resume immediately, federal tribunal rules
A labour tribunal ruled Saturday that nationwide rail service must resume, formally ending a work stoppage at the country’s two largest rail companies.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board, following a directive from Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon late last week, ordered all parties back to work and into binding arbitration. No further lockouts or strikes can occur during the arbitration process.
The order effectively ends a labour dispute between the two companies — CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) — and about 9,300 unionized workers.
“Our team is executing its restart plan for the safe and orderly resumption of rail service across Canada,” CPKC’s said in a statement, adding it is “working with customers on a balanced return to normal operations,” and it could take “several weeks,” to recover from the stoppage and for supply chains to stabilize.
CN said it was “disappointed” an agreement couldn’t be reached at the bargaining table, but that it was “satisfied that this order effectively ends the unpredictability that has been negatively impacting supply chains for months.”
The union — the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents workers at both companies — meanwhile said by ordering an end to the work stoppage, said the governing Liberal Party had abandoned its ideals.
“The Trudeau Liberals have chosen to side against middle- and working-class Canadians, abandoning their supposed progressive values at the first sign of short-term supply chain disruptions,” Paul Boucher, union president, said in a statement.
