Business and industrial associations across Canada warn of “catastrophic” consequences for jobs, health services, and the economy from a national railway strike should thousands of unionised railway workers make good with their threat.
The strike would seriously impact the delivery of Canadian lumber and wood products moved by rail to major shipping ports on the West Coast. Exports from the Port of Vancouver alone are worth more than US $22 billion a year.
Thousands of unionised workers with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail will be locked out by the companies on August 22 unless the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference can break a negotiation deadlock.
Both companies want concessions on issues about crew scheduling, rail safety, and fatigue management.
“The decision to issue a lockout notice comes after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) last Friday determined that no services need to be maintained during a railway strike or lockout to protect Canadian public health and safety.
The board ruled that nothing is moved on Canadian railways that could be deemed critical to health and safety. However, it also ordered a 13-day stay of any strike or lockout action.
“If no resolution is reached during bargaining through the extended cooling off period, and the union continues to refuse binding interest arbitration, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail will have no choice but to take this action,” the company said.
“The company’s decision to issue a lockout notice is both unexpected and needlessly antagonising,” said Christopher Monette, spokesperson for the Teamsters Canada Union.
Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters is calling on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation to convene an emergency meeting to address a national railway strike.
“A national work stoppage of any length will have a catastrophic impact on Canadian manufacturers and their workers,” the CME said.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade notes that Canada’s railways transport $1 billion worth of goods a day and warns that a national railway strike would cripple the Canadian economy.
“The CIRB ruling enables a full work stoppage on our rail system, which would leave Canadians with fewer access to goods and products, driving up prices, and worsening the affordability crisis,” board president Bridgitte Anderson said in a press release. “The livelihood of millions of workers will be put in jeopardy as our national economy grinds to a halt.
“Failing an agreement at the negotiation table, we call on the Government of Canada to be on standby to use every tool in their toolkit to ensure that our rail system is back up and running as soon as possible to ensure that Canadians do not suffer at the hands of the few.”
Despite the CIRB’s findings, it has been argued that certain goods moved by rail are, in fact, critical to the health and safety of Canadians. Chlorine, used to disinfect water, is one of them. According to the Chemistry Association of Canada (CIAC), about 10% of the goods moved on Canada’s railways are chemicals-based.
“Chemicals needed for water treatment and sewage treatment are shipped by rail,” said CIAC CEO Bob Masterson.
According to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the main obstacles at the bargaining table are company demands, not union proposals.
