Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) on June 6 reported that earlier this week it formally offered the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to enter into binding arbitration to reach a new collective labor agreement and avoid a strike that could happen in mid-July, but CN said the TCRC rejected the voluntary arbitration process and all offers put to them.
CN said its offer to TCRC contained two options: one proposing to pay hourly wages to workers on a schedule rather than the current and longstanding practice of pay per mile with no schedule, and the other aimed to extend parts of the current arrangement.
TCRC rejected both, claiming the first offer involves “forced relocation” of workers for months at a time, while the second compels shifts of up to 12 hours, potentially raising the risk of accidents.
“The call for binding arbitration at this late stage of the bargaining process underscores the disingenuousness and failure of CN’s negotiation strategy,” said TCRC Spokesman Christopher Monette. “We firmly believe that binding arbitration can be avoided if CN stopped demanding concessions that would negatively impact workers’ quality of life and undermine rail safety.”
CN countered on June 6 that both offers “align with the latest government regulations and Duty and Rest Period Rules” that were implemented in May 2023, and said the TCRC’s claim that the railroad’s work and rest period proposals are unsafe is false.
CN said it took part in a case management conference organized by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) in late May to discuss the Minister of Labour’s request for clarity on the continuation of activities during a work stoppage. As part of this review, the parties had until May 31 to submit replies to the CIRB. The CIRB has now extended this deadline to June 14.
“As of right now, the CIRB has not indicated how long they will take to make a decision, and neither a strike nor a lockout can happen until then,” CN said in its June 6 statement. “A strike or lockout is unlikely to happen before mid to late July 2024. However, the CIRB’s request for clarity does not impact CN and the TCRC’s ability to continue bargaining.”
TCRC in April warned that a strike at CN andCanadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroads could happen as soon as May 22 (GM May 3, p. 1), raising alarms from Canadian industry groups. Fertilizer Canada said a strike would have a “devastating impact” on the fertilizer industry, Canada’s economy, and domestic and international food security (GM May 24, p. 1).
Industry groups are also concerned about a potential strike of border agents in Canada that could happen as soon as June 7, Bloomberg reported. More than 9,000 workers at the Canada Border Services Agency are seeking improved wages, better retirement benefits, and more flexibility on remote work.
About 90% are deemed essential workers, which means they can’t actually walk off the job, Bloomberg reported. But they can protest conditions by performing only essential job duties and refusing to work overtime, potentially causing long delays in cross-border commercial traffic.
The Treasury Board of Canada, which manages the federal public service, has said that the union’s wage demands are too high. The government said in a June 5 statement that it is “fully committed to reaching an agreement that is fair for them and reasonable for taxpayers.”
Border officers can’t intentionally slow down border processing, and employees who take “illegal job action” may face discipline, the Canadian government warned.