(OTTAWA) The work stoppage at Canadian Pacific (CP) could not have come at a worse time for Canadians, and the government wants a deal to end the standoff immediately, says federal labor minister , Seamus O’Regan.
Posted at 7:43 a.m.
Updated at 9:32 p.m.
But Mr O’Regan was not ready to talk about the possibility of back-to-work legislation being tabled when the House of Commons resumes on Monday, as the company and union are still in talks.
“We want a resolution and we want it now,” said the Liberal minister in an interview on Sunday.
CP halted Canadian operations on Sunday after a work stoppage began just before midnight. More than 3,000 employees – locomotive engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmen – represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) were on the picket line Sunday after the breakdown of recent negotiations.
Management and the union have been negotiating since September. Salaries and pension funds are among the main points in dispute. The union also wants to settle the question of where employees must take their mandatory rest period.
Employees voted 97% in favor of a strike on March 3 and were eligible to call a strike on March 16, the same day the company issued an ultimatum to reach a deal by March 20 at midnight, otherwise it would trigger a lockout.
Federal mediators joined the talks on March 11.
As of 12:03 a.m. Sunday morning, the CFTC issued a statement accusing the company of imposing a lockout. She blamed CP management for putting the Canadian supply chain and tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
“After a pandemic, the explosion in the prices of foodstuffs and products, the war in Ukraine, the rail carrier adds a layer of insecurity among Canadians, particularly those who depend on the rail network”, could- we read in the press release.
A few hours later, a second communiqué announced a lockout and a strike.
A spokesman for CP, Patrick Waldron, said that the employer party presented a new offer to the CFTC on Saturday in the presence of federal mediators.
“We haven’t received a response,” he said.
He blamed the union for starting to ask employees to leave their posts before midnight. For him, it was the CFTC that called a strike, not the management that imposed a lockout.
“Let’s be clear, the CFTC has called a unilateral strike. CP has not locked out its employees,” he insisted.
Mr. Waldron said the company wanted to continue negotiations, but is calling for an end to industrial action. He added that CP supported any government intervention. According to him, the conduct of the union is “dishonest and irresponsible”.
At the “worst time”
Minister O’Regan said after two years of a pandemic, devastating floods in British Columbia and now a war in Europe, Canadians do not have the tolerance to deal with another economically devastating problem.
He said he is confident that the company and the CFTC are very aware of this.
“People’s nerves are on edge,” he said. Nobody needs more stress, nobody needs all that. This work stoppage could not have come at a worse time. And I think they know it. And so, what I see is a willingness to come to an agreement. »
He said he was optimistic a deal could be reached because both sides remained at the table with federal mediators on Sunday, even after the work stoppage began.
Pressure on the government to intervene intensified throughout Sunday, with fears that supply chains already strained by the pandemic, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine, could flag. more as rail shipments are disrupted.
CP says the shutdown will affect “virtually every product” in Canada’s supply chain.
Disruptions ahead of CP’s rail work stoppage had already helped push inflation to its highest level in three decades, with essentials such as food and fuel facing some of the steepest price increases.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce President Perrin Beatty has already called for special legislation to end the work stoppage.
“This work stoppage will have a negative impact on all Canadian businesses, large and small, that depend on the railway for their supply,” he said. This is hurting Canadian supply chains at a time of great uncertainty. It will go beyond our borders and damage our reputation as a reliable business partner on a global scale. »
A spokeswoman for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters said they, too, want back-to-work legislation now.
Fertilizer Canada has also called for “immediate action” from the federal government.
“The interruption of essential rail service during the crucial planting season will have devastating impacts on farmers, the economy and food security, both in Canada and abroad,” the organization wrote. .
The Liberals have introduced back-to-work legislation at least twice since 2015, including to end rotating strikes at Canada Post just before Christmas in 2018 and at the Port of Montreal in 2021.
Minister O’Regan argued that these were very specific situations and that right now his focus is that CP and the Teamsters are still at the table.
In 2021, a strike at Canadian National (CN) ended after a week without back-to-work legislation, but such legislation has emerged at least three times since 2009 in the rail industry.
In 2012, the former Conservative government introduced back-to-work legislation to end a CP strike by sending it to binding arbitration. In 2015, an agreement was reached between the company and the union to end a strike after the government again threatened to impose a law.
In 2009, the Conservative government introduced legislation to end a CN strike, but a deal was struck before it was passed.
This is the fifth work stoppage at Canadian Pacific since 1993. During the last nine negotiations, the two parties have had recourse to federal conciliators eight times.