A rail strike looks to be set for Thursday of this week in Canada, as unions and railways continue to be in dispute and time is fast running out for an agreement to be reached.
The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruled that the services provided by the railways cannot be legally defined as ‘essential’ on 9th August, which effectively made strike action legal by Canadian labour law.
The ruling insisted on a 13-day cooling off period before a strike could commence, which brings us to this Thursday, 22nd August, when unions plan the start of their walkouts.
Of course, the TCRC and CPKC unions could come to an agreement at the last minute with the railway. All parties have been publicly showing a willingness to continue talking following the Labour Minister saying that they “must get serious and engage meaningfully at the negotiating table’.
However, at this moment in time, it looks likely that a strike will start this week.
While ocean freight carriers have been trying to implement alternative routings where possible, it is inevitable that there will be disruption if a strike goes ahead, due to the large volumes of business that moves by rail within Canada and cross border in to the United States.
Your Killick Martin team are monitoring developments closely. If you have concerns for upcoming shipments, then please do not hesitate to contact us.
