Saturday, November 28, 2009

CN Talks go off the rails, railroad anticipates strike action




Last minute talks designed to head off a potential labour dispute at CN have ended with no progress reported and CN Rail preparing to implement its "labour contingency plan", should unionized members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference act on their 72 hour strike notice.
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As we outlined on the blog earlier this week, the latest labour discussions came about after CN walked away from ongoing negotiations after they felt no progress was being made, unilaterally invoking their own contract, the terms of which the TCRC was not willing to accept. After a 72 strike notice was issued by the union, one final session of negotiations was arranged but came to an end on Friday without a resolution.
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The TCRC were in a legal position to strike as of midnight Friday, and should they step away from their locomotives CN intends to operate with what they describe as qualified management personnel to work as locomotive engineers.

CN outlined the latest developments in a press release issued as the deadline passed, though no official confirmation of job action has yet been received, nor has any strike mobilization been outlined on the Teamsters website.

An extended strike could have wide ranging effects on the economy of Western Canada, from grain shipments on the prairies, through to container car passages to the American Midwest. As well, an impact would be felt at the Pacific ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert which could see traffic diverted as shipping lines and customers seek other outlets for their transportation requirements.
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For local workers at Fairview Terminals and Ridley Island, the prospect of a lengthy labour disruption on the railroad could see a reduction in their workloads as shipments slow or stop completely.
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