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EXPLAINER-Why Canada is on the brink of an unmatched rail labor interruption

For the very first time, Canada's. 2 primary railway companies Canadian National Train. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are on the verge of a. synchronised labor stoppage that could inflict billions of. dollars' worth of financial damage.

WHY ARE BOTH COMPANIES POISED TO STOP?

Contract talks in between the Teamsters union and the business. normally occur a year apart, however in 2022, after the federal. federal government presented brand-new guidelines on fatigue, CN requested a. year-long extension to its existing offer instead of work out a. new one.

This implied both companies' labor arrangements ended at the. end of 2023 and talks have been continuous since. As an outcome, for. the first time the failure of negotiations would halt the large. majority of the Canadian freight rail system.

The Teamsters represent around 10,000 members who work as. engine engineers, conductors, train and lawn employees and. rail traffic controllers at the 2 business in Canada.

WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN NEXT?

CN Rail and CPKC both say they will start locking out. employees in the early hours of Thursday if they can not reach a. deal. The union has released a strike notice to CPKC which would. also work early on Thursday.

CPKC, developed in 2023 through a merger of Canadian Pacific. and Kansas City Southern, has a U.S. and Mexican network which. it says will operate typically. CN also states trains on its U.S. network will run.

That said, a stoppage will still cause delivery. disruptions south of the border. Both rail operators and a few of. their U.S. competitors have started to decline certain cross-border. freights that would count on the CN and CPKC networks. CPKC has said it would stop brand-new rail shipments originating in. Canada, and brand-new U.S. shipments predestined for Canada starting Aug. 20, if talks stop working to advance.

The trains move grain, cars, coal and potash, to name a few. shipments.

WHAT ARE THE SIDES ARGUING ABOUT?

The union states CPKC desires to gut the collective agreement. of all safety-critical tiredness arrangements, suggesting crews will. be forced to stay awake longer, boosting the risk of mishaps.

CPKC says its offer keeps the status quo for all work. rules, fully complies with brand-new regulative requirements for rest. and does not in any method compromise safety.

The Teamsters say CN wishes to carry out a forced relocation. arrangement, which would see workers ordered to move across Canada. for months at a time to fill labor lacks.

CN says it has made 4 offers this year on earnings, rest,. and labor availability while staying totally certified with. government-mandated rules managing task and rest periods.

WHAT CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DO?

Under post 107 of the federal labor code, Labour Minister. Steven MacKinnon has broad powers and can order the sides to. get in binding arbitration. In 2023, his predecessor, Seamus. O'Regan, provided such an order to end a dockworkers strike in. British Columbia. Because case, unlike the current rail dispute,. the sides had largely settled on the details of an offer. MacKinnon rejected a request recently by CN for binding. arbitration, prompting the sides rather to put in more effort at. the negotiating table. In a separate statement provided on Monday,. he urged the companies and union to put in the tough work needed. to reach an offer.

WHAT OCCURS IF THE UNION STRIKES? Talk of the government acting to end a strike is moot, provided. that both business have actually made clear they will lock out employees.

In case of a strike, the government can present. back-to-work legislation requiring union employees to go back to. their jobs. The previous federal Conservative government did. that in 2012 to end a walkout by Canadian Pacific employees.

(source: Reuters)