(Reuters circulated the following story on April 23.)
OTTAWA — Ottawa named an arbitrator on Monday to impose a labor contract on Canadian National Railway and 2,800 recently striking employees, Labor Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said in a statement.
The arbitrator, Andrew C.L. Sims, has been given 90 days to find a settlement.
Sims, an Alberta-based lawyer and vice-chairman of the Canadian Industrial Relations Board, will review the final offers of the two sides in the labor dispute and choose one as the collective agreement.
Blackburn urged the two parties to “develop reasonable, long-term solutions,” and said they should still feel free to negotiate their own settlement without the arbitrator if possible.
The Conservative government passed legislation last Wednesday forcing the company to end lockouts in areas where employees were picketing.
The 2,800-member United Transportation Union rejected earlier this month the company’s latest contract offer, which included a 3 percent wage hike. A 15-day nationwide strike in February seriously clogged shipments of grain, chemicals and other goods, harming the Canadian economy.
Sims is also vice-chairman of the Alberta Labour Relations Board and chaired a task force to review part of Canada’s labor code and propose amendments that were enacted in 1998.