Canadian Rail Strike Ends After Government Directive

The Canadian government has stepped in and ordered striking rail workers to return to work just 18 hours after the strike got underway.

Fearing the wider impact to North American economies, the government has forced the railway and unions into binding arbitration, which could see the dispute resolved by a judge.

The strike started as expected on Thursday, but unions have reluctantly now complied with the ruling by instructing their workers to return yesterday. That may not be the end of the dispute, with the unions expected to file an appeal in federal court.

While the strike may have been in effect for just a few days, there will still be a short period of disruption to rail freight movements through Canada as things get back underway.

Several ocean freight services will continue to be impacted as carriers had already been scheduling vessels away from Canadian ports. Assuming there is no further labour actions, then it may take a while for schedules to fall back into line.

If the strike had continued for a prolonged period then the disruption would have been significantly worse, due to the large volumes of ocean freight business that moves by rail within Canada and cross border to and from the United States.

Your Atlantic Pacific team are monitoring developments closely. If you have concerns over current or upcoming shipments, then please do not hesitate to contact us.