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    • In face of major rail strike deadline, minister says parties must 'do the hard work'

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    Labour Minister Steven Mackinnon is calling upon CN Rail, the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference to “do the hard work necessary†to prevent a potential railway stoppage on Thursday that could have an economic impact worth billions of dollars.

    Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top storieIn a new statement on Monday, Mackinnon gave no indication the federal government would be willing to intervene in collective bargaining negotiations.

    “These collective bargaining negotiations belong to CN Rail, CPKC and the TCRC workers alone – but their effects will be borne by all Canadians,†Mackinnon said.

    Last week, Mackinnon already rejected a request from CN to impose binding arbitration.

    NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the federal government should not intervene through either binding arbitration or back-to-work legislation.

    “We oppose those vehemently. The government should not be tipping the scales in favour of the big bosses,†Singh told reporters on Monday. “Signalling any sort of intervention favours the big bosses in this case, the employers in this case. That’s wrong.†

    Negotiations between CN, CPKC and the teamsters continued over the weekend with no signs of progress.

    Late Sunday, the Teamsters released a press release saying workers will walk off the job as of 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday unless the parties can reach an agreement. CN later issued its own notice that it intends to lock out workers unless an agreement or binding arbitration happens.

    Labour agreements for both railway companies expired at the end of 2023.

    “Unfortunately these are very peculiar negotiations so far as the main sticking points are all company demands not union proposals†Christopher Monette, the Director of Public Affairs at Teamsters Canada, said in an interview with CTV News Channel. “Both CN and CPKC are trying to erode protections in our agreement around scheduling, around fatigue, around rest, which are safety critical.â€

    The union claims CPKC wants to “gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions.†Monette says giving into the railway’s demands would result in “far worse†working conditions for its members.

    In response, CPKC says it will focus on a “status quo-style offer†that “does not in any way compromise safety.â€

    Meanwhile, teamsters says CN is demanding that work days be extended in western provinces, which they say will create “a fatigue-related safety risk.†They also say CN is attempting to impose a forced relocation policy that would likely result in families being torn apart.

    “It takes the position of workers as pieces of equipment, machinery that you can just move across the map with no concern for their children, their families,†said Monette.  

    In a statement last week, CN said it has put four offers on the table since the start of the year, claiming “none of CN’s offers compromised safety in any way.†According to CN, the union has rejected all offers and only made a counter-proposal to CN over the weekend.

    “We received one offer from them over the weekend, but we still remain too far apart,†CN Rail director of public affairs and media relations Jonathan Abecassis said in an interview with CTV News Channel.

    Abecassis also said CN Rail is “hopeful†an agreement will be reached before the deadline and the railway will stay at the table until a deal is done.

    “It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but this was something that we have been talking about and trying to get a resolution for for the last nine months,†Abecassis said. “At this point, we will continue to be at the table and negotiate with the union in good faith to try to reach an agreement.â€

    According to the Railway Association of Canada, rail lines carry more than $1 billion worth of goods each day.

    If no deals are reached, more than 9,000 workers would either be locked out or walk off the job on Thursday. 

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