The Canadian Pacific railyard is pictured in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia February 15, 2015. REUTERS/Ben Nelms/File Picture
March 20 (Reuters) – Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) (CP.TO) halted operations and locked out staff over a labor dispute early on Sunday, with either side blaming the opposite for a halt that may seemingly disrupt cargo of key commodities at a time of hovering costs.
“We’re very dissatisfied with this flip of occasions,” stated Teamsters Canada Rail Convention spokesperson Dave Fulton. The union stated in a statement that it had begun to strike throughout the nation within the dispute that it says impacts 3,000 engineers, conductors and yard staff.
Canada’s second-biggest railroad operator accused the union of misrepresenting the corporate’s place, saying in a statement that the Teamsters had been “effectively conscious of the injury this reckless motion will trigger to the Canadian provide chain.”
Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan Jr stated CP and Teamsters had been nonetheless on the desk with federal mediators.
“We’re monitoring the scenario carefully and count on the events to maintain working till they attain an settlement,” he stated in a tweet simply after midnight.
Canada, the biggest nation by space after Russia, relies upon closely on rail to maneuver commodities and manufactured items to port. CP’s community runs throughout a lot of southern Canada and extends as far south as Kansas Metropolis in america.
The lockout is the newest blow to Canada’s battered provide chain, which final 12 months weathered floods in British Columbia that washed out observe and suspended entry to Canada’s greatest port. CP has stated a stoppage would disrupt the motion of grain, potash and coal.
CP had notified the union on Wednesday that it might lock out staff on Sunday, barring a breakthrough in talks on a deal masking pensions, pay and advantages.
It stated the important thing bargaining problem is the union’s request for greater pension caps. Chief Monetary Officer Nadeem Velani informed a New York investor convention on Tuesday that the railway was unwilling to just accept that demand.
Canada’s Nutrien stated this week it might want to cut back potash manufacturing at its mines within the province of Saskatchewan if the shutdown lasts longer than a number of days.
The nation’s final main railway labor disruption was an eight-day Canadian Nationwide Railway Co (CNR.TO) strike in 2019. However previously 12 years, there have been 12 stoppages as a consequence of poor climate, blockades or labor points, based on the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Affiliation. learn extra
Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Chicago; Modifying by William Mallard and Muralikumar Anantharaman
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