Canada - The union representing more than nine thousand CN and CPKC railway workers is organizing a second strike vote, as the current strike mandate is set to expire on 30 Jun 2024.
 
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has notified its members that it will be holding another vote from 14 to 29 Jun 2024 as the Canada Labour Code states that a union cannot declare a strike unless its members have approved walking off the job in the previous 60 days.
 
The conductors, engineers, yard workers, and traffic controllers would have been in a position to strike in late May, however Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan referred the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), putting a pause on any job action by the union or railways until the CIRB has issued a decision on the safety impacts of a strike.
 
While there's no clear timeline or deadline for when the CIRB will announce its decision, the railways have indicated they don't expect a work stoppage will begin until mid-July at the earliest.
 
In a 11 Jun 2024 update to all TCRC members, the union says it also has "no indication how long this process will take, or what an outcome could possibly look like," calling it a "frustrated process".
 
The union says both railways have also asked the CIRB to implement a 30 day extension after the decision is announced before either party can serve the 72 hour notice required for a strike or lockout.
 
"They claim this timeline is required to properly prepare for a shutdown, however the TCRC does not believe this to be a genuine statement," the union says.
 
Both CPKC and CN say they have offered to enter binding arbitration where a mutually-agreed-upon arbitrator would decide the terms of new contract agreements, but that the union rejected their offers.
 
In turn, the TCRC said last week that it offered to stagger negotiations with both companies by two weeks to avoid simultaneous work stoppages, but that the railways rejected the proposal.
 
The possibility of an unprecedented dual rail strike, especially during the peak grain transportation period, is a pressing concern for many farmers, farm group leaders, exporters, and export customers.
 
Several farm organizations made submissions to the CIRB, highlighting the impact of a rail shutdown on movement of grain and other necessary products, including propane used for heating barns and greenhouses.
 
Kelvin Heppner.