CP Rail and union agree to final and binding arbitration
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reports that workers have returned to their duties.
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) railroad workers returned to work at noon local time. CP and the union, which represents 3,000 conductors, engineers, depot workers and other railroad employees, said they had agreed to final and binding arbitration to end the stoppage of work that occurred this Sunday.
"Given the high status of this company, the arbitration process will probably be expedited, but we're not talking days, but weeks," said Robert Hickey, professor of labor and employment at Queen's University.
In a statement early Tuesday morning, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) spokesman Dave Fulton said that while binding arbitration is not the preferred method, the union was able to negotiate terms that were in the interests of its members. That said, wage and pension issues remain a stumbling block.
CP President and CEO Keith Creel said in a statement that the railroad company is pleased that an agreement to enter binding arbitration has been reached, as it will allow the company to resume service to its customers as well as establish supply chains in North America. It was also added that CP hopes to resume normal train service across Canada as soon as possible.
Federal Labor Secretary Seamus O'Regan also paid attention to the event, thanking both sides on his social media.
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