Union claims employer intends to lay off at least 65 members
Negotiations turned south quickly in the contract negotiation between the Canadian National Railway Company (CN Rail) and Unifor.
Just four days after negotiations started, the union filed for a Notice of Dispute to Canada’s Minister of Labour Steve MacKinnon on Friday.
“Adding to the challenges, within 24 hours of the start of negotiations, CN Rail informed the union of its intent to lay off at least 65 Unifor members. This attempt to intimidate your bargaining committees will not succeed,” said Hamid Osman, national communications representative at Unifor, in a letter to members.
“We are committed to fighting for a fair contract that reflects the critical contributions you make every day.”
CN negotiations focus on wages, pensions, benefits
Unifor Local 100 and Council 4000, representing more than 3,600 mechanical, clerical, and intermodal rail employees in Canada, officially opened negotiations with CN Rail on Monday last week.
The negotiation focused on improvements to wages, pensions, benefits and work ownership protection for rail workers.
"Our members at CN Rail go above and beyond to make sure the trains operate and cargo moves across the country," said Unifor National President Lana Payne when the union announced the start of the negotiation. "Unifor and our members know how to fight and we expect to win important improvements for rail workers in this round of bargaining."
One of the union's primary objectives is addressing long-standing issues with the pension plan, which “hasn't been enhanced in over 20 years,” it said. The bargaining committees are also focused on protecting job security in an era of rapid technological change, which, it said, threatens to reduce the need for certain roles within the rail industry.
Unifor also said it is focused on “achieving better work-life balance alongside other bargaining priorities”.
“The negotiations come at a time when CN Rail is reporting record profits, and the union is determined to secure gains that will support workers now and into the future,” said the union.
The current collective agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2024.
CN ‘disappointed’ with Unifor’s move
Meanwhile, CN Rail expressed disappointment that Unifor is now seeking for the help of a federally appointed conciliator.
“While CN is disappointed that Unifor is filing the Notice so early in the process, the company is committed to reaching negotiated agreements with the Union that are good for employees, customers, and the economy,” it said.
In August, Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to impose binding arbitration on the dispute between CN Rail, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the Teamsters union, which represents engineers, conductors, and yard workers.
After that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the decision for his government to call for binding arbitration between the union and the employers was made “reluctantly” – but it was the only logical move.
Recently, Charlene Hudy, who chairs the Air Canada contingent of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), told her fellow workers that she “will have no choice but to resign” if they vote down the deal between pilots and the employer that’s currently on the table.
