The Canadian economy faced a severe economic threat when all freight rails were paused indefinitely. Canada, which significantly relies on railways for goods transportation, saw a standoff between its railway union and both of its major railway corporations. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, and the Canadian National Railways (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railways (CPKC) had been negotiating labor agreements for almost a year when the freight trains were halted on Thursday.
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The dispute
There have been disagreements between the two parties due to the scheduling conflicts; the dispute also involves an adequate system to ensure that the employees do not experience fatigue during shifts. While the CN and the CPKC have been pushing for an hourly pay system, the workers have been insisting on retaining the system by which they get paid in accordance with the distance covered on a trip.
The dispute boiled over which finally resulted in a lock out from the two major rail corporations. The CN and CKPC locked out approximately 9300 workers from 12 a.m. on Thursday which forced all shipments to come to an abrupt halt. The food and the chemical industry were the first to take the hit as the railways had already began declining their freight for well over a week before the lockout.
The automobile industry also depends on the rails to a great extent. Most of the Canadian exports to the U.S are also handled by the railways. In recent statistics shared, 4 out of 5 finished cars in Canada are exported to the U.S. The lockout, therefore, posed a serious threat to not only the Canadian economy but also the American one.
Around $1 billion (CAD) worth of goods are transported via the rails each day in the great white north. Around 30,000 commuters in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver areas of Canada also experienced difficulties as the CPKC controls most of the commuter rail lines.
Government Intervention
After 16 hours had passed without the parties having reached any agreement, the government decided to intervene. The intervention decision came through a press conference yesterday, by Minister MacKinnon. The administration ordered the Canada Industrial Relations Board to negotiate between the CN, CPKC and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference so as to conclude the lockout.
While Prime Minister Trudeau and the government officials have admitted that collective bargaining is the best method to reach an agreement, intervention was ineluctable to protect the economy and the businesses that relied on railways and would suffer the repercussions of the dispute. The CN and CPKC have praised the government for taking the necessary action to resolve the complicated situation.
However, the government’s move has been profusely criticized by its ally in parliament, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh who declared that the intervention would encourage large corporations to exploit such situations, and that “being a bad boss pays off.” The Teamsters President Paul Boucher has accused the CN and CPKC of “manipulating” the government to deny the Canadian proletariat their rights.
Minister MacKinnon said that the railways would resume working in a few days. The CN is set to end the lockout today while the CPKC still awaits the directions from the Industrial Board.
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