After months of threats, it appears that Canada is approaching a national rail strike. The combination of simultaneous talks about pay and conditions between the Teamsters Union and the two main rail companies in Canada have exposed the country to the possibility of strikes across the whole of the rail system.
The negotiations between the rail company Canadian National Rail (CN) and the Teamsters seem to have approached some sort of crisis, with CN stating that it “issued notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) formally advising them of its intention to lockout Canadian TCRC-represented employees on Aug. 22 at 00:01 ET unless an agreement or binding arbitration is achieved before that time”. The Teamsters countered with the assertion that “unless parties reach last-minute agreements, a work stoppage will occur at 00:01 on Thursday, August 22”.
The situation at Canada’s other major railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, is similar. The railway has just issued a notice that the Teamsters members will be locked out “00:01 ET on Aug. 22 if union leadership and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding interest arbitration”.
So, the prospect will be that unless the Teamsters can come to an agreement with two separate rail companies, the Canadian rail system will come to a halt on Thursday. The negotiations are not particularly exceptional, being largely about pay but also the re-location of workers across Canada. The unusual part is that negotiations with both rail companies are happening at the same time.
The Canadian Federal government can oblige both sides to enter binding arbitration, however, it seems that the Canadian politicians in Ottawa are less inclined to an activist approach that the US Government has been in dealing with similar strikes at American ports and railways.
The impact is likely to be substantial within Canada. The loss of containerised capacity from Canadian container ports may also have an impact both on Canada and the US, however, the US operations of Canadian Pacific Kansas City will be unaffected.
Source: Ti Insight
Author: Thomas Cullen
Supply chain strategists can use GSCi – Ti’s online data platform – to identify opportunities for growth, support strategic decisions, help them stay abreast of industry trends and development, as well as understand future impacts on the industry.
Visit GSCI subscription to sign up today or contact Michael Clover for a free demonstration: [email protected] | +44 (0) 1666 519907
