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Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railroad workers on strike in London, Canada, on August 23, 2024 (AFP/Geoff Robins)
New development in the social conflict that is shaking the Canadian freight industry: some of the trains are still at a standstill on Friday and a new strike notice has been issued for Monday despite the intervention of the Canadian government on Thursday to end the blockade.
The Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) had ceased their operations during the night of Wednesday to Thursday. A few hours later, worried about the North American economy, the government of Justin Trudeau intervened to force the union and companies to accept arbitration.
On Friday morning, CN’s 6,500 employees returned to work, but the union filed a strike notice a few hours later, according to a letter seen by AFP.
As for the CPKC workers, they are still on strike because they are contesting the constitutionality of the government’s intervention.
The dispute concerns working conditions, including redeployment of personnel, safety and working hours of employees. Despite months of negotiations, the Teamsters union and the two companies have failed to reach an agreement, leading to an impasse.
“While CN is focusing on its recovery plan (…), the Teamsters are focusing on returning to the picket line,” the railway company responded in a press release on Friday.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locomotives at a standstill in London, Canada, on August 23, 2024 (AFP/Geoff Robins)
This is the first time that Canada has faced simultaneous work stoppages at the two major rail freight companies, which transport goods worth an estimated C$1 billion (€661 million) daily.
Canada is the second largest country in the world and relies heavily on rail transport. The shutdown of traffic on a network that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and south to the United States is paralyzing the transport of grain, potash, cars, petroleum products and lumber.
© 2024 AFP
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