OTTAWA — Service on Canada’s two largest railway companies is scheduled to resume today as a work stoppage at the railroads is ending following a decision by the Federal Labour Office on Saturday.
Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City shut down rail traffic last Thursday, locking out workers and disrupting freight traffic across the country and commuter traffic in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver regions.
More than 9,000 railroad workers were affected by the lockouts as part of an ongoing wage dispute between the two companies and the Teamsters union.
The work stoppage ended shortly after midnight on Monday following a decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board issued on Saturday ordering both companies and their workers to return to work pending binding arbitration.
The president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference protested the CIRB’s decision in a statement on Saturday and announced that he would appeal the ruling.
On the same day, Calgary-based CPKC said it would need several weeks to restore the rail network and then even more time to stabilize supply chains.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 26, 2024.
The Canadian Press
