“Dangerous precedent”: Union reacts to order by railway board to send railway employees back to work
After a bitter wage dispute led to the closure of the country’s two largest railroad companies, the Federal Labor Department on Saturday called on thousands of railroad workers to leave their jobs.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon called for the parties to be subjected to binding arbitration while a settlement is negotiated between Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters union, which represents thousands of their workers.
The board also ordered that no further work stoppages, including lockouts or strikes, be allowed during the mediation process, meaning that the strike notice the Teamsters recently gave to CN is now invalid.
CN stated that it would comply with the order, which also extends the current collective agreement until a new agreement is signed between the parties.
The Teamsters union said in a statement that it would “comply with the panel’s decision in accordance with the law” but would also appeal in federal court.
“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent,” Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said in a statement.
“It sends a message to the Canadian economy that all it takes is for large companies to shut down operations for a few hours and cause short-term economic damage, and the federal government will step in to bust a union. The rights of Canadian workers are now significantly limited.”
Get daily national news
Receive the most important news and headlines from politics, business and current events in your inbox once a day.
“The Trudeau Liberals have chosen to stand against Canada’s middle and working class, abandoning their supposedly progressive values at the first sign of short-term supply chain disruptions. The Teamsters have fought to keep Canada’s railways safe, improve working conditions and prevent CN from forcing its workers to relocate thousands of kilometres away from their families – and we will continue to do so.”
The union had stated that it would legally comply with any decision of the board and was “prepared to file suit in federal court if necessary.”
Similar video
In an update sent to X, MacKinnon said he “expects railroad companies and employees to resume operations as soon as possible.”
The closure of the rail network has sent shockwaves through the Canadian economy, with provinces, economists, business associations, the agricultural sector, exporters and retailers expressing concern about potential massive losses and supply chain disruptions in various industries that rely on the rail network.
The main points of contention in the negotiations revolved around transfers, rest periods and working hours. The union said the latter two demands were based on workers’ safety concerns.
The impasse also affected tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver whose routes run along CPKC tracks. Without the locked-out dispatchers, no passenger trains could run on these tracks.
– with files from The Canadian Press
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
