TRANSPORTATION: CN Rail, unions reach tentative settlement

OTTAWA – The short-lived strike at Canadian National Railway is over. The company and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 26, 2019, after only nine days of labour action. There were real fears from the mining, agricultural and energy industries that a prolonged strike would have affected tens of thousands of jobs across Canada. Nutrien was making plans earlier this week to cease production at its largest potash mine, Rocanville. Presumably, the shutdown will no longer be necessary. ”Given the mining industry is the most significant customer of Canada’s Class I railways, consistently accounting for the majority (52.3% in 2018) of rail freight revenues generated annually and is the single largest shipping group by volume, the strike was deeply felt by the sector. These impacts will continue to be felt for the foreseeable future as it takes approximately a week to move the backlog created per day of disrupted service,” said the Mining Association of Canada. See the website at www.Mining.ca. The tentative agreement was reached with the help of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.