Canada moves quickly to end rail shutdown that threatened North American supply chains
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Business groups said the rail shutddown could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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OTTAWA - The Canadian government moved quickly on Aug 22 to end an unprecedented rail stoppage, announcing that it would ask the country’s industrial relations board to issue a back-to-work order that should come soon.
Canada’s top two railroads, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), had locked out more than 9,000 unionised workers earlier in the day, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.
Canada is the world’s second-largest country by area and relies heavily on railways to transport a wide range of commodities and industrial goods. Its economy is heavily integrated with that of the United States, meaning a stoppage would roil North American supply chains.
The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), which is independent, will now consult the parties before issuing an order.
CN said it would end its lockout on Aug 22 at 6pm ET. CPKC said it was preparing to restart operations in Canada and further details on timing would be provided once it received the CIRB’s order.
“I assume that the trains will be running within days,” labour minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters.
As well as requesting a back-to-work order, Mr MacKinnon asked the board to start a process of binding arbitration between the Teamsters union and the companies, and extend the terms of the current labour agreements until new agreements have been signed. The sides blamed each other for the stoppage after multiple rounds of talks failed to yield a deal.
Business groups and companies had demanded that the government act.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a post on X, said “collective bargaining is always the best way forward”, but added that governments must act when faced with serious consequences to supply chains and the workers who depend on them.
The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, an industry group, said in a statement: “We are pleased the government has responded to our calls to intervene... A prolonged stoppage would have imposed enormous costs on Canadian business.”
The rail companies previously said they were forced into the lockouts to avoid strikes at short notice. They said they had bargained in good faith and made multiple offers with better pay and working conditions.
Unions typically do not want contracts decided through arbitration, as it removes their leverage from withholding labour to secure better terms.
The stoppage has crippled shipments of grain, potash and coal while also slowing the transport of petroleum products, chemicals and vehicles.
Tens of thousands of people who depend on certain commuter rail lines into Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal were also hit by the lockouts, since all train movement on these CPKC-owned lines had halted indefinitely. REUTERS
