The Teamsters Canadian Railway Congress announced it was withdrawing picket lines at Canadian National Railway (CN) and that workers would return to work on Friday.
But the union says the strike at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) will continue until an order is issued by the Canada Labour Relations Board.
After months of increasingly tense contract negotiations, Canada’s two largest railroads failed to reach an agreement with unions by a Thursday deadline, locking out workers.
In response to this unprecedented strike, federal Labour Minister Stephen MacKinnon referred the dispute to the Canada Labour Relations Board for binding arbitration.
Union and CPKC officials met with the board on Thursday and are scheduled to meet again on Friday.
CPKC said it was prepared to meet with CIRB to discuss reinstating the service, but the union has refused and wants to submit a brief challenging the constitutionality of Mr McKinnon’s instructions.
CN and CPKC locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers shortly after midnight Thursday, bringing to an end months of tense and acrimonious labor negotiations.
Jonathan Abecassis, CN Rail’s director of public and media relations, said that without an agreement or binding arbitration, the company “has no choice” but to lock out the workers. The CPKC also sought binding arbitration, saying the union was making “unrealistic demands.”
Less than 17 hours after the lockout began, Mr McKinnon announced he would use his powers as Labour minister to intervene.
Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code provides that the government may refer labour disputes to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to find a resolution.
Freight and commuter disruptions
Pressure from industry groups and state governments to resolve the dispute has been growing for weeks.
Together, these companies move $1 billion worth of freight every day, according to the Canadian Railway Association, and many trips were halted in advance to avoid stranding cargo.
The gridlock affects tens of thousands of commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver who travel on tracks owned by CPKC. With no traffic controllers to give orders, passenger trains can’t move on the tracks.
Industries affected by the strike include agriculture, mining, energy, retail, auto manufacturing and construction. U.S. railroads have also been forced to refuse freight to Canada.
Shippers south of the border also rely on Canada’s two main railroads, whose tracks stretch all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and, in the case of CPKC, several Mexican ports.
