Canadian government intervenes to end railway worker lockout
Roughly 24 hours after it began, a shutdown at Canada's two largest railroads appears to be at least partially over.
According to CNBC, unionized workers at the Canadian National Railway (CN) will start returning to their jobs on Friday, Aug. 23, following an announcement by the Canadian government that it will ask the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), an independent governmental body, to issue a back-to-work order for CN and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail lines.
The CPKC has not yet restarted operations but reportedly said it is preparing to end its lockout of unionized workers and is waiting for the CIRB to issue an order. CN has reportedly said it could take longer than week to get back to normal operations.
The Canadian government is trying to close the door on a brief lockout of more than 9,000 members of the Teamsters union by the CN and CPKC rail lines which began shortly after midnight on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. The companies and the union have been involved in contentious negotiations to reach a new contract agreement. Read more CNBC coverage here.
In a post on X (the social media network formerly known as Twitter), Teamsters Canada said it has taken down picket lines at CN and its members will begin returning to work Friday, Aug. 23. However, Teamsters Canada said it is not certain the CIRB will take action regarding the CPKC shutdown, but the union and railroad officials will meet today.
As previously reported by CNBC, two railroad lines claimed they had been bargaining in good faith and made multiple contract offers with improvements to wages and working conditions before instituting the lockout.
Meanwhile, the Teamsters said they are concerned over issues such as length of shift, scheduling, rest periods between shifts and work-life balance.
Moody’s has estimated the stoppage could cost Canada more than $250 million per day and disrupt shipments of vital products. U.S. Department of Transportation figures indicate that rail shipments account for 14% of U.S.-Canada bilateral trade, which surpassed $380 billion from January to June 2024.
In the U.S. a strike that would have halted nearly 7,000 freight trains and dealt a blow to the U.S. supply chain heading into the 2023 holidays was prevented in December 2023 with action from the federal government.
[READ MORE: Freight rail strike averted]
