The latest developments in the labour dispute at Canada’s two biggest railways

The federal government is intervening in a countrywide work stoppage at Canada’s two biggest railways, but railworkers are pushing back against Ottawa’s move to get them back on the job.
In the culmination of months of increasingly bitter negotiations, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers in the early hours of Thursday.
Here are the latest developments on the rail stoppage (all times are ET):
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7:55 p.m.: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference says a marathon, nine-hour hearing has concluded before the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The board had summoned the union, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City to “case management conferences” Thursday night, and scheduled another meeting with the parties for the following morning.
The Teamsters say they argued the federal labour minister does not have absolute power to end job action.
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3 p.m.: B.C. Premier David Eby says the impacts of a long-term stoppage would be “devastating” for families dependent on work at ports in Prince Rupert and Vancouver, as well as businesses that depend on rail for moving goods.
He says he’s encouraging the rail companies and workers to sit down and “hammer this out” and adds that federal officials should “support clarity on this as quickly as they can.”
The premier also says he understands “why workers are angry” as they push for “basic safety protections” and wage increases to help them with high living costs.
Eby says the rail companies shouldn’t be able to use their monopoly power to hold Canadians hostage instead of “sitting down with their workers, talking about safety, wages and other vital things.”
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2:35 p.m.: The rail workers have seemingly gained another ally in Canada’s largest private-sector union.
Unifor president Lana Payne says the two railways are showing “a blatant disregard for workers’ rights as they joined together to thwart free and fair collective bargaining and engineer a crisis.”
In a post on X, Payne said the union is “deeply concerned” about the federal government’s intention to force binding arbitration, accusing the “rail cartel” of “exerting its power to retaliate against new workers’ rights in the federal sector, including anti-scab legislation and increases in paid sick days.”
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1:38 p.m.: The head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says he is “very disappointed” with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference’s decision to challenge the Minister of Labour’s push to get the railways operating again.
Perrin Beatty says the challenge will prolong the damage to Canada’s economy and jeopardize the well-being and livelihoods of people in the country.
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11:10 a.m.: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference met with reporters in Calgary, with Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte saying the union’s legal team is looking at all available options.
“We will use our constitutional right to fight this,” he said.
Sean O’Brien, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, joined the news conference, telling reporters that workers locked out or on strike “will have full support of any and all resources in the United States.”
Asked whether Teamsters workers in the U.S. might co-ordinate action south of the border, O’Brien indicated that was likely but said he couldn’t give details.
“There will be a plan in place and they won’t like it.”
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10:47 a.m.: The Canada Industrial Relations Board is addressing the labour minister’s referrals for binding arbitration and a back-to-work order “with utmost urgency,” according to Jean-Daniel Tardif, senior director of dispute resolution services.
“Case management conferences were held last evening, and a hearing is proceeding today. At this time, no further comments can be provided on these proceedings,” Tardif said in an emailed statement.
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9.52 a.m.: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union says it has served strike notice to CN Rail. The union says it intends to start the strike at 10 a.m. Monday.
“We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing are insurmountable and we remain available for discussion in order to resolve this matter without a further work stoppage,” union leaders wrote in a letter Friday to the senior director of labour relations at the railway.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)