The Canada Labour Relations Board (CIRB) on Saturday ordered thousands of rail workers to return to work or refrain from striking.
The decision notably imposes binding arbitration on all parties involved: Canadian National (CN), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and workers represented by the Teamsters union.
Freight shipments and some major commuter rail lines across Canada ground to a halt Thursday when CN and CPKC locked out workers after months of increasingly acrimonious contract negotiations failed to produce a deal. It was the first time there had been simultaneous work stoppages at the railways.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon intervened later in the day, calling on the labour board to send the parties to binding arbitration and force workers back to work while a deal is negotiated.
CPKC workers went on strike just as a lockout went into effect early Thursday morning. While CN lifted its lockout the same day, workers at the company gave 72 hours’ notice of a strike and planned to walk off the job as early as Monday.
“The union will legally comply with any decision of the CIRB and is prepared to file appeals in Federal Court if necessary,” the union said in a statement released after Friday’s hearing.
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