BC Business
CP Rail strike | BCBusinessOttawa is expected to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work Monday.
Ottawa is expected to legislate striking Canadian Pacific Railway union back to work as freight service nationwide still stands at a halt. As of Monday, Canadian Pacific Railway will be added to a growing list of striking companies legislated back to work in the last couple of years. Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt threatened CP last week to force the employees back to work, and she’s making good on her promise, just as she did with Canada Post and Air Canada.
As of Monday, Canadian Pacific Railway will be added to a growing list of striking companies legislated back to work in the last couple of years. Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt threatened CP last week to force the employees back to work, and she’s making good on her promise, just as she did with Canada Post and Air Canada. CP employees are fighting back, claiming the back-to-work mandate is an outright attack on their collective bargaining rights. Not that their accusations will make any difference — crying foul certainly didn’t help striking Air Canada employees when they were forced back to work. Last Wednesday, around 4,800 CP workers walked off their jobs after talks between their union and the company ended without resolution. The strike has effectively halted freight service across the country for just under a week. Raitt cites Canada’s fragile economy as the primary reason for forcing the mandate. Ottawa estimates the economy loses between $50 and $80 million each day freight services remain suspended. The story is the same for almost every major union that’s taken to the picket lines in recent years. Whether each union’s grievances were legitimate or not, Raitt dispersed each picket line, citing the economy as the excuse in each instance. So, is this the last major union stand as the government continues to intervene in ever-testy management-labour relations?