Canadian Rail Strike May Start This Week

A rail strike in Canada looks to be set for Thursday of this week, 22nd August, as unions and railways continue to be in dispute and time is fast running out for an agreement to be reached.

On 9th August, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruled that the services provided by the railways cannot be legally defined as ‘essential’, 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 Thursday, when unions plan the start of their walkouts. 

Of course, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union (TCRC) and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City union (CPKC) 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 is widely expected that the strike will start this week.

While many 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 ocean freight business that moves by rail within Canada and cross border to and from the United States.

Your Atlantic Pacific team are watching developments closely. If you have concerns for upcoming shipments, then please do not hesitate to contact us.