Rail Workers Return to Work After Binding Arbitration Ruling
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) officially announced over the weekend that it will impose binding arbitration between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and Canada’s two largest railways, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
The announcement comes just days after both railways locked out TCRC workers and TCRC issued a strike notice to CN in the aftermath of failed negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. Canada’s Labor Minister, Steve MacKinnon, called for the CIRB to begin the arbitration on Thursday, August 22 after nearly a full day of labor stoppages.
The CIRB’s decision came down on Saturday, ordering the workers to return to the railyards this morning. This is just the latest update in an increasingly bitter negotiation process that has spanned over the past year.
While they have been ordered back to work, TCRC said they would be disputing the decision in federal court.
“The union will lawfully comply with the CIRB decision,” TCRC said in a statement. “The Teamsters will also appeal the ruling to federal court.”
The railways both expressed pleasure with the decision, as it allows them to get back to work and avoid further supply chain disruptions.
“CPKC looks forward to welcoming all of our Canadian locomotive engineers, conductors, yardpersons and dispatchers back to work,” CPKC said. “We are focused on restoring our railway to full strength as we get back to serving our customers and moving Canada’s trade and commerce throughout North America.”
CN issued a similar sentiment, saying they are disappointed an agreement couldn’t be reached.
“While CN is disappointed an agreement could not be reached at the bargaining table, the Company is satisfied that this order effectively ends the unpredictability that has been negatively impacting supply chains for months,” CN said.
CPKC anticipates it will take several weeks for the for their rail network to fully recover, but looks forward to getting their trains rolling again. It will continue to take time for the massive supply chain disruptions to stabilize, but this is a start to returning to normal operating capacities.
No further work stoppages or strikes will be allowed during the appeals process. Scarbrough will continue to monitor and provide updates as necessary. If you have questions or need further assistance, please reach out to your Scarbrough representative.
