Canadian National Withdraws Scheduling, Pay Changes in Revised Offer to Teamsters — Update

By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canadian National Railway said Thursday it presented a revised offer to the Teamsters Canada that withdraws an effort to introduce predictable scheduling for workers, and pay based on hours worked rather than miles traveled.

The union said the revised offer was a nonstarter because it would undermine safety for its 6,000 members.

The Montreal-based railroad said the revised offer no longer includes the implementation of a new way to pay its railroad workers, or a new scheduling arrangement the company had previously said would offer more certainty regarding consecutive days off.

According to Canadian National, the company's new offer complies with federal rules on rest periods between shifts, and pays a higher rate for any shift of over 10 hours. Workers would also keep their existing paid days off and vacation entitlement, and get pay raises of 3% this year and 2.5% in 2025.

Canadian National said the average conductor earns 121,000 Canadian dollars a year, or the equivalent of about $90,000.

Teamsters Canada said the revised offer would be contingent on its members' willingness to compel train crews to work longer hours, beyond certain limits in the existing collective agreement, and force railroaders to spend more time away from home under a relocation scheme.

The union had previously said a strike at Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City could begin on May 22. However, no immediate labor disruption is in the offing as the federal labor-relations board needs to rule - based on a reference from the country's labor minister - on whether the railroads must transport certain goods in the event of a labor dispute.

CPKC said Thursday this could delay any labor disruption for about two months, while the Teamsters union told members it was "virtually impossible" to predict how long the federal board might take.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 16, 2024 15:07 ET (19:07 GMT)

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