Teamsters serve CN with strike notice for Monday – National
Truckers The Canadian Rail Conference (CRCC), the union representing rail workers Canadian National Railwayissued a strike notice to CN on Friday.
Workers will go on strike at 10 a.m. ET Monday, the union said.
The strike notice comes after CN announced in a statement that it was ending the lockout in response to the federal government’s decision to impose binding arbitration in the ongoing labour dispute.
“By bypassing the collective bargaining process and ordering binding arbitration, the federal government has undermined the foundation on which unions rely to improve wages and working conditions for all Canadians. Bargaining is also the primary means by which our union fights for rail safety, all of which outweigh short-term economic concerns,” TCRC President Paul Boucher said in a statement.
The statement said the CCRI has not yet made a final decision on whether it will impose binding arbitration or end any work stoppage.
In its statement released Thursday, CN said: “While CN awaits the formal order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), the Company is taking this decision to accelerate the economic recovery.”
The union representing rail workers said it was exploring options to challenge Ottawa’s decision. decision to request the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose final and binding arbitration to end the closure of Canada’s two largest railway lines.
Speaking in Ottawa less than 24 hours after thousands of unionized workers at the country’s two largest rail companies were locked out, Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon said he would use his powers under the Canada Labour Code to “ensure industrial peace” and impose final and binding arbitration.
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He also said he had ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to extend the term of the current collective agreement until a settlement is reached and to order a return to work.
François Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada, said Thursday that the union is speaking to its legal advisors and considering next steps.
“We believe that the Supreme Court decision regarding our right to strike is a constitutional right. And we believe that the application of section 107 (of the Canada Labour Code) is not valid. We are studying our options in this situation,” he told reporters in Calgary on Friday.
Laporte said the union was caught off guard by MacKinnon’s announcement about binding arbitration.
“Two weeks ago he said, ‘Well, no (binding) arbitration and no back-to-work legislation,'” he said.
Laporte said they will continue to oppose third-party arbitration.
“The best way to get a contract is to negotiate at the table,” he said.
The CPKC said it was unable to resume service because the union “refused to discuss any resumption of service and instead indicated that it wished to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister’s directive.”
“While the Minister has directed the CCRI to proceed expeditiously, any decision by the CCRI on the resumption of service will be delayed. CPKC remains ready to resume service as soon as the CCRI directs us to do so,” a statement read.
Laporte said the rail workers would not abandon the picket lines for the time being.
“We are here and we will stay here,” he said.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it was “disappointed” by the union’s decision to challenge the binding arbitration order.
“This action will prolong the damage to our economy and jeopardize the well-being and livelihoods of Canadians, including unionized and non-unionized workers in many sectors,” said Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, welcomed the binding arbitration order but said it would be some time before trains were running again.
“The gradual reduction in rail services over the past few days, culminating in this morning’s complete shutdown, has created significant supply chain and operational challenges for manufacturers across the country – issues that will take days, if not weeks, to resolve,” he said.
However, he said it was better than a prolonged shutdown.
“A prolonged shutdown would have imposed enormous costs on Canadian businesses and workers,” he said.
The Grain Growers of Canada, a group representing 65,000 grain farmers across Canada, has called on railways and unions to resume service as soon as possible.
“For the sake of Canada’s food, economy and national security, we call on all parties to respect yesterday’s directives and work with, not against, the CIRB to resume rail service,” the group said.
The group says that for every day the shutdown continues, farmers will continue to suffer heavy losses.
“Grain farmers will continue to lose $50 million a day due to the total shutdown of our national railways. It’s time to get Canada’s railways back on track,” they said in a statement.
Speaking to Global News last week, TCRC spokesperson Christopher Monette said: The negotiations were not just about money.
“The main issues now are fatigue, rest, hours and forced relocations. Companies want to make it seem like our members are all extremely well paid and spoiled. But the reality is that these are multi-billion dollar companies and our members devote over 80 hours of their lives a week to these companies,” he said.
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