Calgary/Ottawa/Toronto (with files from Reuters/CP24) – MARCH 22 UPDATE – Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the union representing 3,000 conductors, engineers and train and yard workers say they have agreed to final and binding arbitration to end a work stoppage.
Workers will return to the job at noon local time Tuesday.
In a statement issued early Tuesday morning, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference spokesperson Dave Fulton said while arbitration was not the preferred method, TCRC was able to negotiate terms and conditions that were in the best interest of its members, with wages and pensions still stumbling blocks.
MARCH 20 ORIGINAL STORY – The movement of goods on the second largest rail line in Canada, and come to a halt.
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) (CP.TO) halted operations and locked out workers over a labor dispute early on Sunday, with each side blaming the other for a halt that will likely disrupt shipment of key commodities at a time of soaring prices.
This comes after 72 hours notice and affects 3,000 engineers, conductors and yard workers.
CP Rail runs north of the Fraser River , through Agassiz.
Federal Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan Jr said CP and Teamsters were still at the table with federal mediators.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and expect the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement,” he said in a tweet.
On March 20, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) issued a press release regarding the lockout at Canadian Pacific (CP). To clarify, in addition to the lockout, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference is also on strike at CP throughout the country.
TCRC members are already out at various Canadian Pacific locations and picketing throughout the night.
Wages and pensions remain major stumbling blocks. However, also at issue in these talks are working conditions that call into question the railway’s capacity to recruit and retain workforce members.
Teamsters Canada represents 125,000 workers across Canada across multiple industries, with more than 16,000 of those members working in the rail industry. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members across North America.
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited said that while the company was still engaged in ongoing negotiations facilitated by federal mediators, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) withdrew its services and issued a news release misrepresenting the status of the talks.
“We are deeply disappointed that, in the final hours before a legal strike or lockout was to potentially occur, the TCRC Negotiating Committee failed to respond to the company’s latest offer that was presented to them by the federal mediators,” said Keith Creel, CP President and Chief Executive Officer. “Instead, the TCRC opted to withdraw their services before the deadline for a strike or lockout could legally take place. The TCRC is well aware of the damage this reckless action will cause to the Canadian supply chain.”
Additionally, prior to the midnight deadline, the TCRC Negotiating Committee issued a news release that completely misrepresented the truth. The release falsely claimed that CP had initiated a lockout. Contrary to the TCRC Negotiating Committee’s claim, the work stoppage was initiated by the TCRC. In reality, it was CP, with the Director General, Federal and Conciliation Services, that remained waiting at the table with the desire to continue bargaining.
This is clearly a failure of the TCRC Negotiating Committee’s responsibility to negotiate in good faith. The company will be reviewing avenues to have this egregious behavior properly addressed.
As a result of the TCRC’s action, CP is executing a safe and structured shutdown of its train operations across Canada and will work closely with customers to wind-down Canadian operations.
