A Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive at the main CP Rail trainyard in Toronto on March 21, 2022.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. and Canadian National Railway Co. will both resume mediated talks with the Teamsters union on Wednesday, just days before the workers will be in a legal strike position that could halt rail shipments across Canada.
The companies and union announced the bargaining date after meetings with Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez and newly appointed Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon, who had publicly requested the meeting at his offices in Gatineau, Que. on Monday.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the gathering on Monday, Mr. MacKinnon was highly critical of the progress made to date, calling the talks “unacceptably slow.”
“It’s time for the parties to get to work,” Mr. MacKinnon said. “Any Canadian understands how integral these two companies and their workers are to the functioning of the Canadian economy.”
The two railways are in separate negotiations with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents 9,300 train operators, traffic controllers and yard workers in Canada. They could be in a legal strike position as early as next week with the potential to significantly disrupt the Canadian economy and halt shipments of fuel, retail goods and key commodities across the country.
All sides would have been in a legal strike or lockout position on May 22, but that was delayed when then federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to examine whether certain rail deliveries should be declared essential services, allowing shipments to continue during work stoppages. These goods include heavy fuel, propane, food and chlorine for water-treatment facilities.
The board is expected to release its decision by Friday. A strike or lockout cannot happen until 72 hours after the CIRB issues a decision, but that timeline could be further delayed if the board mandates a cooling-off period.
The companies and union are still far apart in negotiations, according to the union’s executive director and director of government relations, Mariam Abou-Dib, who told reporters on her way into the meeting that the union has not yet begun to discuss wage proposals.
“The first and most important thing is our health and safety,” she said.
The union has accused the railways of proposing contracts that jeopardize safety – something the companies dispute. In a statement, Teamsters director of public affairs Christopher Monette said the offer from CPKC would risk more “derailments and other accidents” and CN’s includes enough changes to “raise safety concerns.”
CPKC assistant vice-president Patrick Waldron said the company has made two separate offers to the Teamsters that he said provide significant benefits to employees and comply with new regulatory requirements for rest.
“They do not in any way compromise safety. To say or suggest otherwise is patently false,” Mr. Waldron said.
On its website, CN states that its contract offer is fully compliant with the federal government’s duty and rest period rules. “We have put three different offers on the table and the union has stuck to its 200 demands without even proposing counter offers,” said Jonathan Abecassis, CN’s director or public affairs and media relations.
In its online bargaining updates, CN said in May that it had made a new offer that includes a 3-per-cent raise in 2024 and a 2.5-per-cent increase next year.
The Teamsters have rejected offers from both companies to go to binding arbitration and avoid a work stoppage. Mr. Monette said the union has refused such a move because it believes that the deals can still be reached at the bargaining table.
In a statement, Robin Guy, a vice-president with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said rail strikes would “have a devastating impact not only for the Canadian economy, but for Canadian families.”
He said the government should do “what it can” to ensure shipments continue.