Canada - CPKC and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) made no progress on their stalled contract talks this week, and no further negotiations are planned, the railway and union said in updates on Wednesday.
 
Although Wednesday marked the end of a mandatory 21 day cooling off period under Canadian labour law, the Canada Industrial Relations Board continues to review requests to determine what commodities might be deemed essential and must keep moving during a strike.
 
"We understand the CIRB has received a significant number of submissions that it will need to review and consider. The CIRB process is moving forward. A case management conference is now scheduled for early next week. The CIRB has given CPKC and the TCRC until 31 May 2024, to file replies," CPKC said in an update.
 
CPKC says it does not expect the CIRB to make an essential commodities ruling until the middle of July at the earliest, which pushes off the potential for a strike or lockout involving its engineers, conductors, and rail traffic controllers.
 
"CPKC remains firmly committed to negotiating renewed agreements to avoid a work stoppage that would be detrimental to the interests of all stakeholders, including our employees, their families, our customers and supply chains across North America and beyond. Unfortunately, it is clear the TCRC leadership does not share that commitment. Instead, the TCRC appears determined to go down the path of a reckless, economically damaging strike, that can and should be avoided," CPKC said.
 
The railway has asked the TCRC to resolve the contract dispute through binding arbitration.
 
"The bargaining committee assembled in Montreal on 16 May 2024 to prepare for negotiations with the Company and Federal Mediators from FMCS on 17 May 2024. Despite being ready to negotiate over the long weekend, the Company declined to participate unless their original demands were met. The committee found this unacceptable, given the membership's response to the strike mandate and CPKC's options. During the scheduled negotiations, the committee worked extensively with the Federal Mediators to explain our positions and why the company's demands were unacceptable. The parties parted ways on 21 May 2024. FMCS remain prepared to continue mediation, if necessary, though no further negotiation dates are planned," the union said in a statement.
 
The TCRC said CPKC's bid for arbitration is an indication that "it hopes for government intervention to stop collective bargaining. We remain committed to negotiating a Collective Agreement and will continue to advocate for and defend the members' best interests. As a union, we have a fundamental obligation to our membership to secure an acceptable contract that reflects the needs and desires of our members. This commitment means we cannot and will not accept terms that undermine the hard-fought rights and benefits our members deserve," TCRC said.
 
The Teamsters, CPKC, and CN remain far apart on a contract agreement and have been negotiating with the assistance of federal conciliators.
 
CN and CPKC both initially proposed shifting train crews from the traditional mileage-based pay to hourly pay, with CPKC also offering a separate mileage-based contract proposal.
 
CN has taken the hourly pay proposal off the table and has proposed a new mileage-based contract.
 
The union has strongly opposed the hourly pay proposals.
 
Author unknown.