The Canadian government would soon announce its plans to deal with a nationwide shutdown of freight rail services, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Trudeau spoke to reporters in Quebec on Thursday, expressing concerns that the shutdown would soon impact the entire country.
We will have more to say shortly on what we’re doing to make sure the right solution is found, quickly, for the economy.
Canada’s two leading railways locked out more than 9,000 union members on Thursday, triggering an unprecedented simultaneous rail shutdown. This could cause billions of dollars in economic damage and shake up supply chains in North America.
Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City companies and the Teamsters union blamed each other for the work stoppage after several rounds of negotiations failed to result in an agreement.
The business groups and companies said they wanted the federal government to impose binding arbitration against the union and the companies, thus ending the work stoppage.
Railway companies argued that they were forced to declare lockouts to avoid industrial action at short notice. The CNR and CPKC gave customers advance warning to reroute freight, ensure the network shutdown was phased in, and ensure dangerous goods were not delayed.
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference president Paul Boucher said:
Throughout this process, CN and CPKC have shown themselves willing to compromise rail safety and tear families apart to earn an extra buck.
Unsuccessful negotiations
Representatives of both railways stated that they negotiated in good faith and repeatedly offered higher pay and working conditions. CPKC said:
Despite our best efforts, it is clear that a negotiated outcome with the TCRC is not within reach.
CN said it was forced to declare a lockout of workers because the union did not return to its final offer before the deadline. The two railways, which have a duopoly on rail freight in Canada, said they would declare a lockout of workers at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday.
This comes after the Canadian government introduced new work and rest period rules in 2023. CN has said it wants workers to stay on the job for up to 12 hours in accordance with government regulations. CN locomotive drivers on the picket said they are concerned about longer shifts and the company’s attempt to cut the current rest period of 24 hours after going home by about half.
What we want are working conditions that will make sure that the train operator, whether it is an engineer or conductor (…) gets their proper rest.
