Workers for Canada’s biggest railways have voted to strike, setting the stage for a potentially crippling labour disruption that could stall freight shipments across the country.
The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union says members working at Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate as both sides remain far apart in labour negotiations.
The Teamsters could now call for a nationwide rail strike as early as May 22. It would impact around 9,900 train conductors, locomotive engineers, and other workers.
The union said turnout for the votes came in at 92 percent, with 98 percent supporting a strike mandate. The numbers varied among the four bargaining units, though none came back at lower than 95 percent.
The strike vote comes at the end of the 60-day conciliation period between the railways and unions. Both sides are now in a 21-day cooling off period. No strike or lockout can take place until it concludes. Read more here in the iPolitics CPKC CN Vote to Strike.
CN Update: Negotiations with TCRC
In a notice to customers on May 1, CN said it met with representatives of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) union for contract negotiations on April 29 and 30, supported by federal conciliators.
CN indicated that the union is unavailable to meet again until May 13.
The company said it maintains a cautious outlook regarding the possibility of finalizing a deal by May 22, when a labour disruption could begin.
For full details: CN Negotiations with the TCRC
CPKC Update: Negotiations with TCRC
With the assistance of federal conciliators, CPKC and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) leadership are meeting again this week to continue negotiations to renew the collective agreements for both Train and Engine (T&E) and Rail Traffic Controller (RCTC) employees. The parties remain far apart.
A work stoppage will impact all Canadians. It will halt freight traffic on CPKC’s Canadian rail network. It will disrupt essential supply chains throughout North America, and significantly constrain trade between Canada and the U.S. and Mexico. Commuter services hosted on CPKC’s network in Montreal (Exo), Toronto (Metrolinx) and Vancouver (West Coast Express) will be unable to operate.
The TCRC leadership and CPKC are scheduled to meet again during the week of May 13.
For full details: CPKC Bargaining Updates
Photo by venca on Freeimages.com
On April 19th, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the delay CARM (Canada Assessment and Revenue Management) Release 2 (R2) until October 2024.
CARM will launch internally at the CBSA on May 13th, as planned, to advance the Agency’s compliance and enforcement efforts. However, as a result of strike vote activity now underway by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the possible impact on the Agency’s operations in the event of a positive strike vote, it is the intention of the CBSA to reschedule the launch for trade chain partners to October 2024. This will ensure that the Agency can support partners as they start using CARM. Therefore, until the fall, trade chain partners will continue to operate as they have.
Read the full news release from CBSA: CBSA Phasing in CARM
Please see 'CARM Updates' under our *Resources page for additional news bulletins.
FCL Fisker CARM Registration Support Options
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Option 2: Assisted Registration
Option 3: Self-Registration
Option 4: Non-Involvement to CARM
For more information, you can directly contact the CBSA's Client Support Centre at 1-800-461-9999 or visit: CBSA Online
For additional support, contact your FCL Fisker Customs & Logistics experts at: CARM@fisker.ca
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