Canada labor commission orders end rail work stoppage By Reuters

By Allison Lampert

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Canada’s Industrial Relations Board ordered an end to work stoppages at the country’s largest railways on Saturday, signaling the end of an unprecedented service disruption at both major rail freight carriers that had threatened to derail Canada’s economy based on export.

The independent labor tribunal made the decision after Canada asked it on Thursday to end an impasse in separate talks between more than 9,000 Teamsters members and Canadian National Railway (TSX:) and Canadian Pacific (NYSE:) Kansas City.

The Teamsters said in a statement that workers’ rights were “significantly diminished” by the decision and that it would appeal in federal court.

The board’s decisions are the latest twist in labor disputes at CN and CPKC that locked out Teamsters on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail shutdown that business groups say could cause hundreds of millions in economic damage. dollars.

Canada, the world’s second largest country by area, relies heavily on trains to transport a wide range of goods and commodities.

Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said on social media site X that he expected “railway companies and employees to resume operations as soon as possible.”

The decision will resume rail operations at CPKC, where workers have been both locked out and on strike, until 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, the railroad said in a statement.

A Teamsters spokesman said workers would not return early, despite CPKC’s request that employees return on Sunday.

“We anticipate it will take several weeks for the rail network to fully recover from this work stoppage and a period of time beyond that for supply chains to stabilize,” CPKC said.

The labor board’s decision averted a planned strike Monday by locomotive engineers, conductors and other workers at Montreal-based CN, just days after Canada’s largest railway ended a lockout and service restoration has begun. The Teamsters confirmed that its CN workers will not strike Monday after the CIRB decision.

In ordering an end to the shutdown, the board implemented government requests to require the parties to enter binding arbitration to reach new agreements and to mandate the continuation of existing contracts pending new agreements.

“This CIRB decision sets a dangerous precedent,” said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Railway Conference. “It signals to business Canada that major companies have to shut down operations for a few hours, cause short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break up a union.”

A CN spokesman said the company would have preferred a negotiated settlement, but “we are pleased that this ends the work stoppage.”

The disruption could have drastically affected farmers and agricultural companies in both Canada and the United States.

Wade Sobkowich, chief executive of the Western Grain Elevator Association, which represents grain companies, said they had been calling on the government for weeks to refer the matter to the CIRB.

“It means the government really listened to what Canadians told them,” he said. “We cannot afford a self-inflicted wound to the economy.”

Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the US Soybean Shipping Coalition, said the Canadian government had to step in to help farmers who rely on seamless cross-border trade.

“We didn’t take sides between the railroads and the railroad workers,” Steenhoek said. “However, we stand with the American farmer.”

On Thursday, MacKinnon said his decision to refer the matter to the CIRB would survive a court challenge, given his broad power under the country’s labor code.

The Teamsters union wants working conditions and pay for its members to be negotiated, despite disputes with CN and CP over scheduling, shift length and availability. CN, for example, wants employees to work shifts of up to 12 hours, up from 10 hours in the current agreement, a move against the union.