As he sent both parties to final binding arbitration, Labour Minister Steve McKinnon stated that railway operations should restart “within days”.
After failing to reach an agreement with the Teamsters union, Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out around 9,300 workers on Thursday.
Approximately 75% of Canada’s total exports are sent to the US, primarily via rail. A protracted conflict might have caused shipments of a variety of products, including coal, wood, grains, and beans, to be disrupted.
Canada, the second-largest country in the world by land area, depends largely on rail transportation.
The government stated that although it is in favor of collective bargaining, it must use its authority under the Canadian Labour Code to make sure that vital trade and goods are carried out.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board will arbitrate issues pertaining to collective agreements in accordance with its orders. To enable staff to return to work as soon as feasible, the Board will also extend the terms of the collective agreements in the meantime.
At the end of the previous year, both railways’ labor agreements came to an end.
