Canadian rail workers vote for strike again: Fear of freight forwarders grows

Trucking companies are expecting supply chain disruptions this month after Canadian rail workers affiliated with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) voted overwhelmingly to extend the strike – and said they would stop operations at the first opportunity.

The union announced over the weekend that 10,000 workers at rail operators CN and CPKC had voted, with 98.6% voting in favour.Trike registration. The voting result is valid for 60 days.

The strike had already been approved for May 22, but a request from the government to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on May 19 – to determine whether rail transport can be considered essential and whether a strike would therefore endanger public health – pause.

This also meant that the vote on the May 1 strike ended today.

“Because of the delay at the CIRB, the union had to take the unusual step of asking members to reauthorise the strike,” the TCRC said. If the CIRB decides that service is not essential, a strike can take place with just 72 hours’ notice.

In Submission of documents to the Board of Directors, shared with The Loadstar, Both the railway operators and the union are of the opinion that rail services cannot be considered systemically important.

And while the timeline for the CIRB’s decision-making process is unknown, a major freight forwarder shared The Loadstar Disruptions in the supply chain were expected from mid-July.

In the meantime, the CIRB procedure has no impact on the continuation of the negotiations, but the parties have did not agree and it is unlikely that an agreement will be reached before a strike occurs.

The TCRC said: “Workers are on the defensive in these negotiations, with both companies demanding a number of concessions on issues such as workforce scheduling, working hours and fatigue management. The stumbling blocks are the companies’ demands – not the unions’ proposals.”

The union had called for industrial action against CN and CPKC after five months of unsuccessful negotiations following the expiration of the previous agreement in December.

It added on Saturday: “Faced with labor shortages, both CN and CPKC are trying to provide more train crews… Compromising on safety or threatening to tear families apart for months is not a solution to the staffing problem. CN and CPKC should instead seek to improve working conditions and take a more humane approach to the railroad.”

Mirko Woitzik, Global Director of Intelligence at risk analysis firm Everstream Analytics, said before The Loadstar: “Companies in many sectors must expect widespread disruptions in rail and maritime transport as well as possible production losses due to increased freight backlogs.

“In addition to further looming rail disruptions, CN and CPKC are supporting intermodal freight services at all Canadian container terminals, which could exacerbate port congestion across the country,” he added.

In the event of a rail strike, the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal and Halifax would be affected, among others.