Alberta’s Ministers of Jobs, Economy and Trade and of Transportation and Economic Corridors, Matt Jones and Devin Dreeshen, went on record this past Saturday, Aug. 17, urging the federal government to take action to avoid potential labour disruptions for Canada’s railways.
Jones says, “Alberta’s government is calling on the federal government to take immediate action to address potential labour disruptions at Canada’s two largest railways, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC) and Canadian National Railway (CN). This strike could happen as early as August 22.
“If negotiation agreements between each of the railways and workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference cannot be reached and workers are locked out, work stoppages at the railways will effectively shut down Canada’s rail network and vital supply chains.”
Dreeshen adds, “The disruption to Class 1 railways would have far-reaching impacts, especially considering Canada Industrial Relation Board’s ruling that CPKC and CN would not be required to maintain some services during a work stoppage. This will disrupt supply chains, reduce hours and wages for workers across Canada and drastically impact the Canadian economy.
“The federal government has existing tools designed to ensure industrial peace. It is essential that the federal ministers act to avoid work stoppages, given the economic risks to both Albertans and Canadians.”
Last week when CN Rail asked the federal government to intervene, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon rejected that request. CTV news reported that “in a letter addressed to CN’s lawyer, MacKinnon said it is the ‘shared responsibility’ of both Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to negotiate in good faith and work diligently towards a new collective agreement.”
“I trust that with continued effort, an agreement can be achieved promptly. The government firmly believes in the collective bargaining process and trusts that mutually beneficial agreements are within reach at the bargaining table,” wrote MacKinnon.
“To support this process, mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service remain available to work with you to facilitate productive negotiations and help bridge any gaps,” wrote MacKinnon.
CN said in a statement issued last week, “Unless there is immediate and meaningful progress at the negotiating table or binding arbitration, CN will have no choice but to begin a phased and progressive shutdown of its network, starting with embargoes of hazardous goods, which would culminate in a lockout at 00:01 Eastern Time on Thursday, Aug. 22.”
On Monday, Aug. 19, the union representing thousands of railway workers said it had served a 72-hour strike notice to the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference issued a news release saying unless the parties can reach a last-minute agreement, workers will be off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Thursday.
Barry Prentice, director of the transport institute at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business told Global news that in Western Canada, the agriculture sector will be the worst affected. “The very sensitive agricultural sector is going to be really affected because the harvest is coming off now.”
A joint statement by the Canadian Meat Council and the Canadian Pork Council said, “Canada’s red meat processors need stable, reliable supply chains to run their businesses. Another interruption in service will result in millions of dollars in losses, irreversible reputational damage, environmental disposal challenges, and enormous waste,” said Chris White, CEO, Canadian Meat Council.
“Last summer’s Port of Vancouver strike disrupted $10.7 billion dollars’ worth of trade during the 35 days of strike action. The impacts of two Class 1 railways striking at once will have even worse, unprecedented ramifications.”
Fertilizer Canada said, “Railways begin slowing down service ahead of a work stoppage, including issuing embargoes that halt the movement of certain products. Embargoes issued today impact essential ammonia fertilizer products. Service for all products will also begin to slow three to five days ahead of a work stoppage and take three to five days to reach regular service once it ends.
“Seventy five per cent of all fertilizer produced and used in Canada is moved by rail. There are very limited alternatives to rail to ship fertilizer products. Canadian, American, and international farmers rely on Canadian fertilizer to maximize crop yields.”
Fertilizer Canada also called on the federal government and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to take immediate action to assist all parties, CN, CPKC, and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), in reaching agreements, including ordering a directive for binding arbitration that prohibits TCRC from undertaking strike action and CN and CPKC from lockout action.
Battle River Rail General Manager Matt Enright says the union strike won’t affect them directly, as no BRR employees are union members, but says a work stoppage on CN will stop the flow of cards to and from CN to BRR. “As such, grain shipping will stop. Not ideal for the start of harvest!”
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor