CN and CPKC took steps early Thursday morning to lockout over 9000 employees who are members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference after an agreement was not reached.
In a press release following the lockout, CN notes that they chose to lock out employees after the union did not respond to another offer by CN in a final attempt to avoid a labour disruption.
CN says over the last nine months they have negotiated in good faith
"This offer improved wages and would have seen employees work less days in a month by aligning hours of service in the collective agreement with federally mandated rest provisions. The offer also proposed a pilot project for hourly rates and scheduled shifts on a portion of the network as CN continues to believe this is a better and more predictable framework for our employees."
The company says without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout.
In a statement on the CPKC website they noted the locked out members of the TCRC's Train and Engine division and Rail Traffic Controller division noting despite bargaining in good faith it was clear that a negotiated outcome with the TCRC is not within reach.
"At this time, the responsible path forward for the union, the company, our customers, the Canadian economy and North American supply chains and the public interest is for TCRC and CPKC to engage in binding arbitration to resolve all outstanding disputes. Binding arbitration is an effective, reasonable and fair process that ultimately has been used many times in the past to resolve disputes with this union. CPKC reiterates its standing offer to resolve this matter through binding arbitration. Acceptance of that offer by the TCRC would immediately end this work stoppage and mitigate further harm and disruption to supply chains and our economy."
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference says the main obstacles to reaching an agreement are company demands, not union proposals.
"Both companies claim to be affected by labour shortages and are seeking ways to maximize output from their crews, asking for significant concessions over scheduling and fatigue management that will lead to safety risks. In addition, CN is attempting to impose a forced relocation plan that would see workers ordered to move across the country for months at a time, tearing apart families."
The TCRC says rail safety and forced relocation are at the heart of the impasse.
"If the companies get their way, train crews would be forced to stay awake even longer, raising the risk of derailments and other accidents.
Critically, rail workers are already held to exhausting work schedules; many need to remain available and on call for almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once called in, they have only two hours to report to work, often without knowing when they will be able to return home (the same day, the next day, or even later.)
CN and CPKC, by refusing to negotiate in good faith, not responding to numerous union proposals, and locking out thousands of railway workers, are responsible for the interruptions to supply chains."
CN and CPKC say binding arbitration is now needed to reach an agreement.