Canadian rail decision is a win for companies, union leader says
Adds comment from Canadian Pacific Kansas City, airline pilots association in paragraphs 8-10
Union to mount legal challenge against decision
Air Canada pilots concerned how ruling will affect their talks
Both railways say they would have preferred a negotiated settlement
CN and CP railways focusing on restoring service
By Allison Lampert
MONTREAL, Aug 25 (Reuters) -A decision obliging more than 9,000 Canadian rail workers to stay on the job is a win for the railways and could impact bargaining in other federally regulated sectors like aviation, the head of a Canadian rail workers' union told Reuters.
Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, also said the union would work with other labour groups as it mounts a legal challenge to a Saturday decision that halted work stoppages at the country's two largest railways and imposed arbitration.
While the Teamsters will obey the order to return to work, the union has warned it could lead to the imposition of future contracts, eroding workers' bargaining power. The decision comes as Air Canada pilots AC.TO press for a new contract and can commence job action as early as mid-September if there is no agreement with the country's largest carrier.
Air Canada said on Sunday its intent is to reach a negotiated settlement with the pilots over the coming weeks.
"Any federally regulated company, it's a win for them at this point," Boucher told Reuters in his first interview since the Thursday lockout. "This is disastrous for labour, for workers."
The Canada Industrial Relations Board made the decision after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked it on Thursday to end an impasse in separate talks between the Teamsters, Canadian National Railway CNR.TO and Canadian Pacific Kansas City CP.TO.
The dispute, which triggered a first-everlockout of Teamsters workers on Thursday at both freight rail carriers, led to unprecedented disruptions that threatened to hammer Canada's export-driven economy, leading agricultural businesses to plead for relief.
Tim Perry, president of the Air Line Pilots Association Canada,which represents Air Canada pilots, said the union is concerned.
"The new Minister of Labour does not trust the Canadian laws governing collective bargaining, nor does the government he represents respect the constitutional rights of workers," Perry said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Canada's labour minister declined to comment on whether the decision to impose binding arbitration on railways would serve as a precedent in other sectors, including aviation.
CN has said the company would have preferred a negotiated agreement but was satisfied that the labour stoppage is over. Spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis said on Sunday that CN tried to get an agreement for nine months and made five offers that would have improved wages and working conditions but the union did not engage. A CP spokesperson said it regretted that the government had to intervene and fundamentally believes in and respects collective bargaining.
Both railways have said they are focused on restoring service, with the Teamsters calling off a CN strike on Monday but planning to appeal the decision in federal court.
Other unions could participate in court and support theTeamsters, Boucher said.
"This historical moment is so extremely important that labour needs to get involved and they will," he said.
The 58-year-old Boucher , who once worked as a CN locomotive engineer,has been bargaining with CN out of a second-floor conference room at a downtown Montreal hotel.
The Teamsters union disagreed with CN and CP over scheduling, shift duration and availability. CN, for example, wants employees to work up to 12-hour shifts, compared with 10 hours in the current agreement, a move opposed by the union.
Boucher said he has been in contact with the union representing more than 5,400 Air Canada pilots who approved a strike mandate last week.
"We're going to be calling on all labour across Canada to join our fight and take this all the way," he said.
FACTBOX-From fertilizers to coal, Canadian industries to feel the squeeze from rail stoppage ID:nL4N3K60S6
Canada labor board orders end to railway work stoppage ID:nL1N3KB07X
Union vows to fight Canada's move to end rail shutdown, sparking uncertainty ID:nL1N3KA0ET
Canada's rail shutdown could hit GDP hard, kill jobs if protracted ID:nL4N3K81LF
Canada moves to end rail shutdown quickly; CN workers to return to work ID:nL1N3K903H
Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal
Editing by Nick Zieminski and Lisa Shumaker
Senaste nytt
Ansvarsfriskrivning: XM Group-enheter tillhandahåller sin tjänst enbart för exekvering och tillgången till vår onlinehandelsplattform, som innebär att en person kan se och/eller använda tillgängligt innehåll på eller via webbplatsen, påverkar eller utökar inte detta, vilket inte heller varit avsikten. Denna tillgång och användning omfattas alltid av i) villkor, ii) riskvarningar och iii) fullständig ansvarsfriskrivning. Detta innehåll tillhandahålls därför uteslutande som allmän information. Var framför allt medveten om att innehållet på vår onlinehandelsplattform varken utgör en uppmaning eller ett erbjudande om att ingå några transaktioner på de finansiella marknaderna. Handel på alla finansiella marknader involverar en betydande risk för ditt kapital.
Allt material som publiceras på denna sida är enbart avsett för utbildnings- eller informationssyften och innehåller inte – och ska inte heller anses innehålla – rådgivning och rekommendationer om finansiella frågor, investeringsskatt eller handel, dokumentation av våra handelskurser eller ett erbjudande om, eller en uppmaning till, en transaktion i finansiella instrument eller oönskade finansiella erbjudanden som är riktade till dig.
Tredjepartsinnehåll, liksom innehåll framtaget av XM såsom synpunkter, nyheter, forskningsrön, analyser, kurser, andra uppgifter eller länkar till tredjepartssajter som återfinns på denna webbplats, tillhandahålls i befintligt skick, som allmän marknadskommentar, och utgör ingen investeringsrådgivning. I den mån som något innehåll tolkas som investeringsforskning måste det noteras och accepteras att innehållet varken har varit avsett som oberoende investeringsforskning eller har utarbetats i enlighet med de rättsliga kraven för att främja ett sådant syfte, och därför är att betrakta som marknadskommunikation enligt tillämpliga lagar och föreskrifter. Se till så att du har läst och förstått vårt meddelande om icke-oberoende investeringsforskning och riskvarning om ovannämnda information, som finns här.
