Canadian rail workers announce strike from next week

MONTREAL/OTTAWA: The union representing workers at Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), opens new tab said on Friday they would strike next week, in a fresh threat to the economy after vowing to challenge a government decision to end an unprecedented rail stoppage.

The Teamsters union filed notice that conductors, locomotive engineers and other workers at Montreal-based CN would strike on Monday, just days after returning to work on Friday.

A Canadian government official had no immediate comment.

A CN spokesperson said trains were starting to run and the company’s plan to resume operations was under way.

“We are focused on getting back to work,” said Jonathan Abecassis, CN’s spokesperson. “The Teamsters are focused on getting back to the picket line.”

Also read: Key facts about Canada’s biggest rail operators as work stoppage begins

The looming strike is the latest twist in a labor dispute at Canada’s top two railroads, which locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage.

A lockout at rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO), opens new tab has yet to be officially lifted after the Canadian government moved on Thursday to end the rail stoppage, which for the first time involved both railways simultaneously.

The dispute led Canada’s Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to issue a back-to-work order. Union and railroad officials met with the CIRB, an independent body, on Friday morning, the Teamsters said on social media site X.

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Teamsters spokesperson Chris Monette said by phone earlier in the day that the union would challenge the constitutionality of the minister’s referral, without giving details.

Monette said CN workers would return to work on Friday, although the union had not received any back-to-work protocol from the railway.

“The return to work will be chaotic this morning,” he said.

Monette said members from CPKC would not be back at work as the railway had not yet ended its lockout.

Air Canada pilots vote to authorize strike

Meanwhile, Air Canada (AC.TO) pilots voted to authorize a strike, with 98% voting members in favour, the Air Line Pilots Association union said on Thursday.

More than 5,000 pilots represented by the union have been pressing for historic gains to narrow a wage gap with higher-paid U.S. counterparts, who secured record contracts in 2023 amid pilot shortages and strong travel demand.

The carrier’s pilots started bargaining last summer after ending a decade-long contract framework.

“Our goal is to avoid a strike and our focus remains on modernizing our contract for Air Canada pilots,” said Charlene Hudy, who heads the local union representing the carrier’s pilots.

In the past two years, unions in the aerospace, construction, airline and rail industries have advocated for higher wages and more benefits amid a tight labor market.

Air Canada said on Thursday it would continue to work towards a collective agreement. A strike cannot take place before the current conciliation period ends, which is followed by a 21-day cooling-off period, the carrier said.