Canada tries to end rail lockout, after labour dispute brings trains to a halt
- With the stoppage threatening to slash billions off GDP, the government is seeking to force the union and rail companies into arbitration
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government stepped in to try to end a work stoppage at Canada’s two largest railways that has brought rail traffic to a halt.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration on Canadian National Railway Co, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters union, he announced on Thursday afternoon in Ottawa.
He also ordered the parties to extend their current labour contract, and said the railways should resume operations “forthwith”. MacKinnon said he’s “confident” the measures will get trains rolling again and end a lockout that began just after midnight Ottawa time on Thursday. But it is not guaranteed.
The industrial relations board – an independent tribunal – will now have its own process to follow. MacKinnon said the board will have to consult both sides in the coming hours, and he hopes a decision will come “very quickly” that will send railway employees back to work.
The two railways control about 80 per cent of Canada’s rail network, and shutting them down swiftly causes economic harm.
A two-week lockout would shave as much as C$3 billion (US$2.2 billion) from the country’s nominal gross domestic product, including a C$1.3 billion hit to labour income and a C$1.25 billion loss to corporate profits, the Conference Board of Canada said.
