TORONTO – The Canadian arbitrator appointed to resolve a messy railway labor dispute to protect the North American economy has ordered employees at the country’s two major railways back to work so both can resume operations.
The Teamsters union that represents workers said Saturday it will comply with the order and send its members back to work, but it will also move forward with a legal challenge.
“This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to Corporate Canada that big business only needs to stop operations for a few hours, cause short-term financial pain, and the federal government will step in to bust a union,” said Paul Boucher , president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents more than 9,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers.
“The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly reduced today,” Boucher added.
The order should allow Canadian National trains to continue running and help Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.’s railroad get its operations back up and running.
Both railroads have said they would comply with the Canada Industrial Relations Board’s order. Canadian National trains started running again Friday morning but the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference threatened to go on strike there starting Monday morning. CPKC workers have been on strike since the lockout began early Thursday, and the railroad’s trains have been stationary.
Union officials have said they would “work within the law” even as they questioned the constitutionality of the arbitration order, announced by the government on Thursday afternoon to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences for the economy.
Companies across Canada and the United States said they would quickly face a crisis without rail service because they depend on freight railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products. Without regular supplies, many companies may have to reduce production or even shut down.
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