By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Ontario
More than 3,000 engineers at Canadian Pacific Railway went on strike Sunday after talks failed prior to the deadline of 12:01 a.m. (GMT0501).
“Picket lines are now being set up across Canada and the rail shut down is happening,” Douglas Finnson said in a statement on the union website. He is president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, or TCRC, the union that represents the 3,300 engineers.
In a statement issued Sunday morning, Canadian Pacific officials said management would take over the rails to man a reduced freight network.
There are fears for the detrimental impact on the Canadian economy.
In 2012, 4,800 Teamsters and other CP employees went on strike for nine days at a time when Labour Minister Lisa Raitt estimated the strike would cost the economy $540 million a week and hurt Canada’s reputation in international business.
Current Labour and Status of Women Minister Keillie Leitch, who participated in the CP labor negotiations, did not hide her feelings on the failed talks.
‘I am incredibly disappointed that the TCRC failed to reach an agreement with CP Rail,” she said. “Due to this reckless disregard for Canadians, and the Canadian economy, our government will review all available options to end any work-stoppage expediently, up to and including the introduction of (back to work) legislation in Parliament.”
The Canadian Press reported that according to an anonymous government source, the federal government would introduce legislation Monday to end the strike.
The main issues were not specifically stated, but Finnson said CP wanted unreasonable concessions.
“We are on strike to overcome the culture of fear initiated by CP management, to achieve a healthy and safe work environment for the working people and to introduce effective and progressive fatigue countermeasures within our workplace …” Finnson said.
CP officials said the railway proposed fair options during negotiations, including wage and benefit increases, as well as work schedules designed to make work life easier for engineers.
Grain farmers in western Canada are leery of the damage from a prolonged strike.
“Like any other rail disruption, a day or two is probably not crucial,” said Alberta Barley Commission chair Mike Ammeter, as reported in the Calgary Herald. “But if we see a stop in rail transportation for any prolonged length of time, the economic damage will be significant.”
Other goods transported by rail because of the immense size of Canada would also be hurt, including coal, potash and crude oil shipments.
In the third quarter of 2014, a daily total of 182,059 barrels of crude oil were transported by rail.
Union officials said they were prepared to go back to the negotiating table at anytime to get a deal hashed out.
