(Bloomberg News circulated the following article on February 26.)
TORONTO — The Canadian National Railway’s striking employees returned to work yesterday, a day after their union reached a tentative settlement for a new labor contract.
The 2,800 conductors and yard workers, represented by the United Transportation Union, went on strike Feb. 10 after failing to negotiate a contract with the country’s largest railway. The strike delayed shipments of coal, grains, lumber and car parts for companies including Ford Motor, and held up cargo at the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest.
“We do have a number of areas where there are a significant number of employees already back,” a Canadian National spokesman, Mark Hallman, said.
Managers will continue to fill in for workers to keep Canadian National’s freight operations running until operations return to normal, he said.
Canadian National and the United Transportation Union have not disclosed details of the agreement.
A Web site for union rail workers, however, published documents, under Canadian National and United Transportation Union letterheads, indicating that the agreement was for one year and included a 3 percent wage increase and a bonus of 1,000 Canadian dollars ($862) on ratification.
The union said it would retain its right to strike during the ratification process, which ends when ballots are counted March 26.
The agreement was reached a day after the Canadian labor minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, introduced legislation in Parliament that, if approved, would have forced striking employees back to work as early as this Thursday.