Federal labour minister Lisa Raitt is threatening back to work legislation if Canadian Pacific Railway and its Teamster Canada unionized employees do not quickly reach a deal and end a strike.
More than 4,800 CPR employees started a strike after midnight May 23, shutting down the railway’s freight service and leading to some shipper calls for an end to the strike.
Just 10 hours after the strike started, Raitt told reporters on Parliament Hill she had given parliamentary notice that a back-to-work bill could be introduced when Parliament resumes from a week’s break May 28.
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“I have given notice of the ability to introduce legislation if necessary,” she said May 23.
However, Raitt, who earlier ended labour disputes at Air Canada and Canada Post, said her preference was for the railway and its union to settle their differences.
She had sat in on negotiations until 1 a.m. and said a deal is possible.
She would not say how quickly a bill would be introduced but argued that a prolonged strike could cost the economy $540 million a week.
Raitt said the two remaining issues are pension liabilities and work rules and that the two sides had narrowed their differences during marathon bargaining sessions during the week.
“Our best efforts right now are to help them get a deal, to settle the issue at the table,” she said. “If they can’t, we will act.”
The New Democrats called for a negotiated settlement and no government intervention.
“Air Canada and Canada Post employees already paid the price when Conservatives passed special laws to take away their right to strike,” said NDP labour critic Alexandra Boulerice. “After three times in 10 months, taking away workers’ rights has become a habit for these Conservatives.”
Liberal critic Rodger Cuzner said an intervention on the company’s side would be an ideological move by the Conservatives.
Raitt said governments of various political strikes have intervened 10 times in the past when a railway labour dispute disrupted the economy.
Meanwhile, Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti wrote to the minister May 23 to express outrage at the government’s quick threat of intervention.
“Your government is flagrantly taking away people’s right to strike in an aggressive and biased approach to labour relations in the federal sector,” he wrote.
While Raitt would not set a deadline for introduction of back-to-work legislation, she said the government would watch to see when the rail shutdown begins to seriously disrupt other economic sectors.
