2 April 2007
Rail Service in Jeopardy
Talks ended Friday, 30 Mar 2007, in the
dispute between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference - Maintenance of Way
Employees Division (TCRC MWED) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) without an
agreement being reached. No further dates have been set for bargaining.
The parties had been negotiating since July, 2006 and were also involved
in Federal Mediation and Conciliation which ended 1 Apr 2007. Their last
collective agreement expired on 31 Dec 2006.
The Union could be in strike position as early as 25 Apr 2007.
The TCRC MWED represents over 3,000 hard working men and women employed
in the CPR's maintenance of way department. These are the people who build,
inspect and maintain the tracks, bridges, and structures for the safe operation
of trains and rail traffic.
The main areas of contention are compensation, seniority, safety, equity,
and quality of life issues.
CPR has advertised record profits over the past years, with 2006 as the
highest in their history. The maintenance of way employees are among the
lowest paid in the company.
"We are committed to bargaining a fair and equitable contract and have
been trying to do just that. But it takes the desire of both parties to
achieve a negotiated settlement." said William Brehl, President of the TCRC
MWED. "We do not want a strike, we want an agreement. A fair agreement."
"However we are also concerned that the company will attempt to keep up
its high speed and high volume rail traffic in the event of a legal work
stoppage, endangering the lives and properties of thousands of Canadians. In
light of all the derailments reported in the media and the damage and danger
they represent, we are praying that the CPR does not try to run its regular
complement of trains without a full and properly trained workforce to protect
them."
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