Back-to-work order likely for striking CP workers
Posted May 28, 2012 7:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The strike at Calgary-based Canadian Pacific could soon be derailed.
Monday marks the sixth day more than 4,800 CP Rail employees have been off the job, causing huge delays in freight and cargo shipments.
With the strike taking a big bite out of the Canadian economy, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is expected to table a back-to-work bill in the Commons Monday morning.
At 11:45 a.m. MST, Raitt will hold a press conference in Ottawa to discuss the bill she is expected to table, meaning strikers can be ordered back to work by the end of the week.
Raitt says after consulting with farmers and those in the mining sector, it’s clear allowing the strike to continue would be too costly for the national economy.
CP Rail spokesman Ed Greenberg says the impact is far-reaching.
“For CP this walk-out has resulted in tens of thousands of car loads of freight not moving every day in our Canadian network,” says Greenberg. “The layoffs and non-striking CP workers and the impact on our customers and the Canadian economy all add into a situation that is of concern.”
The company’s plans to decrease pensions as well as changes to other post-retirement benefits have been points of contention during the bargaining process.
