The latest in the labour dispute at Canada’s two biggest railways

The federal government is intervening in a countrywide work stoppage at Canada’s two biggest railways, but railworkers are pushing back against Ottawa’s move to get them back on the job.

In the culmination of months of increasingly bitter negotiations, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers in the early hours of Thursday.

Here are the latest developments on the rail stoppage (all times are ET):

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11:10 a.m.: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference met with reporters in Calgary, with Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte saying the union’s legal team is looking at all available options.

“We will use our constitutional right to fight this,” he said.

Sean O’Brien, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, joined the news conference, telling reporters that workers locked out or on strike “will have full support of any and all resources in the United States.”

Asked whether Teamsters workers in the U.S. might co-ordinate action south of the border, O’Brien indicated that was likely but said he couldn’t give details.

“There will be a plan in place and they won’t like it.”

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10:47 a.m.: The Canada Industrial Relations Board is addressing the labour minister’s referrals for binding arbitration and a back-to-work order “with utmost urgency,” according to Jean-Daniel Tardif, senior director of dispute resolution services.

“Case management conferences were held last evening, and a hearing is proceeding today. At this time, no further comments can be provided on these proceedings,” Tardif said in an emailed statement.

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9.52 a.m.: The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union says it has served strike notice to CN Rail. The union says it intends to start the strike at 10 a.m. Monday.

“We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing are insurmountable and we remain available for discussion in order to resolve this matter without a further work stoppage,” union leaders wrote in a letter Friday to the senior director of labour relations at the railway.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)

The Canadian Press