Canada moves to end rail shutdown quickly; CN workers to return to work
Canadian National workers to return to work on Friday
Work stoppage at Canadian Pacific still ongoing
Labour Minister MacKinnon expects trains running within days
Business groups and companies demanded government action
Teamsters union says picket lines will remain in place for now
New Democratic Party opposed government's decision
Recasts headline and first paragraph with union statement that CN workers will return to work Friday
By David Ljunggren and Promit Mukherjee
OTTAWA, Aug 22 (Reuters) -Workers at Canadian National Railway CNR.TO will begin returning to work on Friday, the Teamsters union said, hours after the Canadian government moved to end an unprecedented rail stoppage.
The union said the work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Kansas City CP.TO would continue pending an order from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The union and company officials are scheduled to meet with the board on Friday morning.
Canada's top two railroads, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City had locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers earlier on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.
The Canadian government on Thursday announced that it would ask the country's industrial relations board to issue a back-to-work order that should come soon.
The CIRB, which is independent, will now consult the companies and unions before issuing an order.
CN had said it would end its lockout on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT). CPKC said it was preparing to restart operations in Canada and further details on timing would be provided once it received the CIRB's order.
"I assume that the trains will be running within days," Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters.
As well as requesting a back-to-work order, MacKinnon asked the board to start a process of binding arbitration between the Teamsters union and the companies, and extend the terms of the current labor agreements until new agreements have been signed.
The sides blamed each other for the stoppage after multiple rounds of talks failed to yield a deal.
In a new statement during the early hours on Friday, the Teamsters union posted on X that it had taken down picket lines at CN.
CN spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp it could take the company a week or more to catch up on shipments.
MacKinnon's decision marked a change of mind by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which had said it wanted to see the matter settled at the bargaining table.
"We gave negotiations every possible opportunity to succeed ... but we have an impasse here," MacKinnon said.
"And that is why we have come to this decision today."
RELIANT ON RAIL
Business groups and companies had demanded the government act.
Trudeau, in a post on X, said "collective bargaining is always the best way forward," but added governments must act when faced with serious consequences to supply chains and the workers who depend on them.
Canada is the world's second-largest country by area and relies heavily on railways to transport a wide range of commodities and industrial goods. Its economy is heavily integrated with that of the United States, meaning a stoppage would roil North American supply chains.
"We are pleased the government has responded to our calls to intervene ... A prolonged stoppage would have imposed enormous costs on Canadian business," the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, an industry group, said in a statement.
The rail companies previously said they were forced into the lockouts to avoid strikes at short notice. They said they had bargained in good faith and made multiple offers with better pay and working conditions.
Paul Boucher, head of the Teamsters rail union, had accused CN and CPKC of being "willing to compromise rail safety and tear families apart to earn an extra buck".
Unions typically do not want contracts decided through arbitration as it removes their leverage from withholding labor to secure better terms.
The left-leaning New Democratic Party, which has traditionally received strong union support and props up Trudeau's government, opposed the government's decision.
"Justin Trudeau has just sent a message to CN, CPKC and all big corporations - being a bad boss pays off," party leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement.
The stoppage has crippled shipments of grain, potash and coal while also slowing the transport of petroleum products, chemicals and autos.
Tens of thousands of people who depend on certain commuter rail lines into Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal were also hit by the lockouts, since all train movement on these CPKC-owned lines had halted indefinitely.
The stoppage was largely rooted in scheduling, availability of labor and demands for better work-life balance, according to the union and companies. It comes after Ottawa introduced new duty and rest-period rules in 2023.
EXPLAINER-Why the Canadian freight rail halt will roil North American supply chains ID:nL1N3K902Y
FACTBOX-Canadian rail stoppage set to squeeze North American industries ID:nL1N3K9031
TIMELINE-CN Rail, CPKC shut Canada rail network as labor talks deadlocked ID:nL4N3K717A
Canadian rail stoppage could cripple shipments https://reut.rs/3yL2UTP
Canada Railroads https://reut.rs/3Ar1I8r
Reporting by David Ljunggren and Promit Mukherjee in Ottawa, Abhinav Parmar, Jahnavi Nidumolu and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Nathan Gomes and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Writing by Abhijith Ganavaparam; Editing by Rod Nickel, Jamie Freed, Jacqueline Wong and Sriraj Kalluvila
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
