By Celebrity Mukherjee
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Pacific Kansas City said on Saturday that the airline would suspend all new rail shipments originating in Canada and all new U.S. shipments destined for Canada starting Tuesday if talks with the Canadian union do not progress.
North American industry associations and trucking companies are bracing for an unprecedented simultaneous shutdown of Canada’s two main railroads, which could disrupt the transportation of goods such as coal, potash, crude oil and grain, as well as manufactured goods from cars to chemicals.
The Teamsters union’s negotiations with Canadian National Railway and CPKC have stalled, and the railroads have announced that they will begin locking out workers on August 22 if they cannot reach a collective agreement. The union says it is prepared to call a strike on that day.
In an update on Saturday, CPKC said it was “taking prudent steps to prepare for a possible disruption to rail service next week.” Collective bargaining is set to continue on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the CPKC had already begun halting all new shipments of dangerous chemicals or dangerous goods.
CN Rail also said on Friday that there had been “no meaningful progress at the negotiating table” and added that it had also begun phasing out its network.
CN Rail said this would culminate in a lockout unless an agreement is reached or binding arbitration is imposed.
Canada’s Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon earlier this week rejected a request from CN Rail to initiate binding arbitration between the two sides, urging the company and unions to negotiate in good faith.
Industry associations warn that a simultaneous work stoppage at both railway companies could cause economic damage amounting to billions.
This could also impact trade with the US and Mexico. The CN and CPKC networks connect major US rail and shipping hubs such as Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Memphis. CPKC’s network also extends further south to ports on the east and west coasts of Mexico.
(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Paul Simao)
