Railway workers at CN and CKPC have voted to reauthorize a strike should current negotiations go awry.
In a statement Sunday, Teamsters Canada said that its conductors, locomotive engineers, railyard workers and rail traffic controllers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the decision.
“CN and CPKC are trying to force changes to our collective agreements that would move the clock back on working conditions and rail safety,” Paul Boucher, the union president, said.
“The Teamsters are trying to stop them. With this renewed strike mandate, we intend to go back to the bargaining table, work with federal mediators, and do everything in our power to reach a fair deal for our members and protect all Canadians.”
On Friday, CKPC said that it would be unlikely for the workers to be in a legal position to initiate a strike or lockout prior to July, and under the Canada Labour Code, a strike cannot occur without a minimum of 72 hours notice.
CKPC also said that it was awaiting a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on the matter of maintenance during a possible strike and added that it requested an extended cooling-off period after the federal body issued a decision so that it could “provide stability and predictability regarding the timelines for a potential work stoppage and allow all stakeholders to plan for such an eventuality.”
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