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(Sound of workers conversing while working)
Joel works at Canadian National Railway.
He’s supposed to be at his job, but he’s on the picket line.
“CN Rail has locked out its employees, so we are only here to get information on the picket line. Let everyone know we’re here. We want to get back to work and we hope the company and our negotiating team can reach an agreement.
Canada’s two main railway companies, CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, have locked out more than 9,000 union workers.
Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said the two companies and the Teamsters union are now blaming each other for the work stoppage because an agreement could not be reached.
“In the ongoing collective negotiations between Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, agreement has thus far proved elusive… These collective negotiations belong to these parties, but their effects and the impacts of the current impasse are borne by all Canadians. »
The ruling sparked widespread concern in Canada and the United States.
Many businesses in both countries and across all sectors rely on railways to deliver their raw materials and finished products, meaning that without regular rail service they may have to scale back or even close.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says billions of dollars of goods move between Canada and the United States by rail each month, as well as within Canada.
At first, the Canadian government was reluctant to use its power to submit the dispute to binding arbitration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government believed another solution could be found.
“We are on this, we are taking this very seriously. The minister has engaged directly. We are not taking this lightly, obviously because Canadians across the country are concerned about this, and we will have more to say shortly about what we are doing to ensure that the right solution is found.
But Minister MacKinnon has now announced he is forcing the two major freight railways back to the negotiating table.
“Pursuant to section 107 of the Canada Labor Code. I have ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assist the parties in resolving the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final and binding arbitration. I have also ordered the Board to extend the term of the current collective agreements until new agreements are signed and operations on both railroads resume immediately.
This means trains will run again.
But Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, fears there could be long-term consequences.
“The impact is enormous. It’s affecting consumers with packaged goods, pharmacy products, infant formula in some communities being shipped by rail. That’s true across the entire economy. So I’m really concerned that even a few weeks of strike, you would have to multiply that by six to eight before the system returns to normal. A one-week strike could take 6 to 8 weeks before the system returns to normal. business owners will make their best to try to catch up on some of the sales that they may be missing. But that only helps to a certain extent I mean, even with a few weeks delay, if your products. seasonal workers missed the season they are associated with, you are done.
