(The Canadian Press circulated the following story on April 18.)
OTTAWA — Parliament approved legislation last night to force employees at Canadian National Railway Co. back to work.
The bill handily passed third reading in the Commons by a vote of 196 to 41.
Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn justified the legislation as essential to the health of the Canadian economy.
The NDP denounced it as ham-fisted.
The United Transportation Union, which represents 2,800 conductors and yard workers, vowed after the vote to continue fighting to address worker dissatisfaction over what it says are unfair work rules and conditions at CN.
“This bill appears to be intended to pave the way for CN Rail to attack our rights,” union vice-president John Armstrong said in a statement.
“They want to break up our bargaining unit in order to weaken the workers’ ability to stop management from pushing older workers out of the way and manipulating work rules and schedules at workers’ expense.”
Union members began rotating strikes last Tuesday following rejection of a tentative deal.
CN then locked out union members who took part in the strikes.
The railway said this week a countrywide contract could not be reached.
The company said it would have no comment after the Commons vote.
Many industries that rely on the rail system applauded the back-to-work legislation, but called on the federal government to start a policy discussion on how labour relations in the sector can be improved to minimize any damaging impact on the Canadian economy.
“The reality is that we live in a just-in-time world where companies have innovated and learned to reduce inventories,” Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said in a release before the vote was held.
“If you don’t deliver on time, you won’t deliver again.
“Any kind of delay in the supply chain sends an immense ripple through the economy, taking money out of the pockets of Canadians.”
The union issued a statement Monday saying the government should tell CN “to get serious about bargaining” rather than involving Parliament in the labour dispute.