The rail strike involving the Canadian Teamsters Union, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City ending following the government’s decision to force arbitration between the union and the two freight companies. (Source: Shutterstock)
More than 9,000 Canadian rail workers returned to work on Aug. 26 after threatening to contest the government’s decision to force arbitration between the union and the two freight companies involved in the strike.
On Aug. 22, Canadian National Railway (CNI) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP) locked out rail workers following months of unsuccessful negotiations over safety and scheduling issues. The Canadian government ordered binding arbitration with independent third party Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to solve the dispute.
The Canadian Teamsters Union threatened to strike during arbitration, but the CIRB ruled Aug. 24 that that work stoppage must end. The union announced that it would return to work Aug. 26, while planning to appeal the CIRB’s decision to federal court.
“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain and the federal government will step in to break a union,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
CNI and CP both issued statements Aug. 24 that they were ready to resume service.
Both companies handle a small percentage of the country’s crude and NGL traffic with the U.S. Analysts had said a short strike would not have much of an impact on the energy industry.
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