Montreal/Fraser Valley/Ottawa (with files from Canadian Press/CBC) – The federal labour board has ordered thousands of rail employees back to work after a bitter contract dispute shut down the country’s two major railways.
The decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board imposes binding arbitration on the parties following a work stoppage at Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) that halted freight shipments and snarled commutes across the country since Thursday morning.
From Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Union website: The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has ruled to allow federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to end job action in Canada’s rail sector and impose binding arbitration.
The union will lawfully comply with the CIRB decision. The Teamsters will also appeal the ruling 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. The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today,” said Paul Boucher, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.
“The Trudeau Liberals have chosen to side against middle- and working-class Canadians, abandoning their supposed progressive values at the first sign of short-term supply chain disruptions. The Teamsters have fought to protect rail safety in Canada, improve working conditions, and prevent CN from forcing workers to relocate thousands of kilometres away from their families—and we will continue to do so,” added Boucher.
