(Reuters circulated the following report by Ilaina Jonas and Bill Berkrot on December 5.)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents 4,500 locomotive engineers and conductors, and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reached a revised tentative 5-year contract settlement on Wednesday, the railway said.
The memorandum of settlement will be sent to the union membership for ratification, which is expected to conclude within the next eight weeks.
Details of the tentative agreement will be released following ratification of the agreement by union members, Canadian Pacific said.
While cause for optimism, the tentative settlement does not mean the labor dispute is over.
A previous tentative agreement on a five-year pact reached in September that the union said offered improvements in wages, benefits and pension provisions was nevertheless narrowly rejected by union members.
At the time, union and railway officials declined to identify, which issues proved to be sticking points with union members.
Last month, railway management and the union entered into a no-strike and no-lockout agreement as they restarted negotiations.
Last spring, CP’s 3,200 track workers went on strike for three weeks in a dispute over wages and work-rule changes.