‘Dangerous precedent’: Union reacts to board ordering rail employees back to work
After a bitter contract dispute shut down the country’s two major railways, the federal labour board ordered thousands of rail employees back to work on Saturday.
Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked to send the parties to binding arbitration while an agreement is hammered out between Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters union representing thousands of their workers.
The board also ordered that no further labour stoppage, including a lockout or strike, can occur during the arbitration process. This means that the strike notice recently issued to CN by the Teamsters is now voided.
CN said it will comply with the order which also extends the current collective agreement until a new agreement is signed between the parties.
In a statement, the Teamsters union said it will “lawfully comply” with the board’s decision but it will also appeal the ruling to federal court.
“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent,” Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference said in a statement.
“It signals to Corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union. The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today.”
“The Trudeau Liberals have chosen to side against middle- and working-class Canadians, abandoning their supposed progressive values at the first sign of short-term supply chain disruptions. The Teamsters have fought to protect rail safety in Canada, improve working conditions, and prevent CN from forcing workers to relocate thousands of kilometres away from their families—and we will continue to do so.”
The union had said
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