Tentative agreements were reached between Canadian National (CN) and the Unifor union on Monday.
CN announced earlier this evening that new tentative collective agreements have been reached with Unifor.
Negotiations, which began in October, continued until Monday, in an attempt to avoid a work stoppage. The Unifor union already had strong strike mandates, obtained from its members in the proportions of 97% and 98%, depending on the local union concerned.
Unifor represents more than 3,000 union members at Canadian National Railway Company (CN). They work in different departments: mechanical, intermodal, facilities management, in offices, all across the country.
“We are very pleased to have concluded these agreements. CN has always sought negotiated agreements to improve the working conditions of this important group of employees as we continue our essential work of keeping North America’s economy going,” said CN President and CEO Tracy Robinson in a statement.
No details of the tentative agreements are made public until the new collective agreements are ratified.
The union also announced the signing of tentative agreements, stressing that “negotiations have been fraught with difficulties, in particular due to demands for concessions from CN”.
“With the invaluable support of members, the bargaining committees have been able to stand up to this big, profitable corporation and persevere to get tentative agreements,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
The four tentative agreements affect members of Local 100 and Council 4000 across the country, the union said in a statement. The former represents skilled trades in mechanical shops, while Council 4000 is for intermodal, clerical, mechanic and excavator operator personnel.
Unifor says ratification votes will be held very soon.
Earlier, Unifor, which is affiliated with the FTQ in Quebec, said CN management wanted concessions from its members on retirement age and benefits.
CN management did not want to confirm this information. She indicated that she remained “determined to reach an agreement in order to avoid union action”.
In negotiations that began last fall, Unifor requested conciliation in mid-December.
The collective agreements concerned expired on December 31.
— With information from Lia Lévesque.