Canada’s freight rail network was paralyzed Thursday by a strike by nearly 10,000 workers following the failure of labor negotiations with the two companies in the sector in the country, union sources reported.
“Despite months of good faith negotiations (…) the parties are far apart. CN (Canadian National) and CPKC (Canadian Pacific Kansas City) have begun to work stoppages,” said the union Teamsters Canada (TCRC), which represents some 10,000 workers, in a statement.
The parties had given themselves until 00:01 local time (05:01 GMT) to reach an agreement before the work stoppage or “lock-out”, which is the temporary closure of a company decided by the employer in response to a labor dispute.
CPKC on Thursday accused the union of “making unrealistic demands” and said an agreement was “not close”.
“The union has not responded to another offer from CN in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a strike,” Canadien National said in a statement on Thursday.
This is the first strike involving the two companies, which have not negotiated labor agreements in the same year in the past.
CN and CPKC, which control routes from the Atlantic to the Pacific and to the United States, transport around 730 million dollars a day in merchandise, ranging from grains to vehicles, or oil.
In recent days, railroad companies in the United States and shipping lines have stopped accepting some cargo destined for Canada in anticipation of the strike.
CN has sought temporary relocations of workers to fill staffing gaps in some regions of the vast Canadian territory, which unions have rejected.
The dispute between the workers and CPKC centres on safety issues related to rest times for train crews.
The two companies “are willing to compromise railroad safety and separate families to make a little more money,” said Teamsters president Paul Boucher. The union said it remains at the “negotiating table” with the two companies despite the lockout.
