The federal government has appointed labour relations expert William Kaplan as an arbitrator to settle a dispute between Canadian Pacific Railway and its Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union.
The July 19 appointment comes under the terms of back-to-work legislation passed by Parliament in May.
He is supposed to issue a report by mid-October that sets the rules for the next contract.
Both the railway and the union recommended Kaplan’s appointment, according to the announcement from federal labour minister Lisa Raitt.
In May, the government moved to end a five-day strike by more than 4,000 CPR workers, quickly forcing the bill through Parliament and promising an arbitrator to settle the details of an imposed contract.
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Raitt has the power to extend his 90-day mandate but urged both sides to co-operate so the details of the contract can be in place by autumn.
Labour leaders and opposition MPs complained that the Conservatives were effectively ending the right to collective bargaining by siding with CPR.
Employers have little incentive to bargain when government intervention in federally regulated sectors is all but guaranteed, they said.
