(Reuters circulated the following article on May 16.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian National Railway and its locomotive engineers met with a federal mediator on Monday in a final attempt to avoid a strike that could disrupt freight service in much of Canada and commuter trains in Toronto, officials said.
A union official said there had been no significant developments in the talks, which involved the mediator meeting with the company and union bargaining teams independently, but negotiations were continuing.
The strike by the Teamster Canada Rail Conference could idle freight trains on many of CN’s lines in Canada, as well as commuter rail service in Toronto where the railroad provides engineers for GO Transit.
CN Rail spokesman Mark Hallman said the railway remained hopeful it could reach a settlement with the union that represents about 1,700 engineers who have been without a contract since the end of 2003.
The union has said its members will walk off the job at one minute after midnight EDT on Wednesday morning (0401 GMT) if an deal is not reached on issues ranging from a profit sharing plan to crew scheduling and rest breaks.
The dispute does not involve engineers on CN’s lines in the United States, northern Quebec or on the former BC Rail in British Columbia, which have separate labor agreements.
CN has said it will attempt to maintain core freight operations, but Hallman said it has told GO Transit it will not be able to supply replacement crews for the commuter trains.
The Toronto Transit Commission said GO Transit passengers should consider switching to the subway if the trains stop running, and said the subway system had the capacity to handle the increased demand.