(The Canadian Press circulated the following on August 7.)
TORONTO — The United Steelworkers union said Tuesday it looks forward to early contract negotiations with Canadian National Railway Co. and isn’t concerned about previous labour strife at Canada’s largest railway operator.
The union comments came after the union announced it had agreed to enter into talks for a new contract ahead of the Dec. 31 expiration of the current labour agreement.
Lead Steelworkers negotiator Fil Falbo said the union welcomed CN’s invitation to begin negotiations early, and that further meetings with the Montreal-based railway were scheduled for later this month.
“We’re not too concerned over the previous strikes that happened,” he said. “They probably happened because there were important issues to those members. Whether or not the issues are the same I don’t really know too much about.
“I do know what CN agreements came up after the arbitration cases and we hope that we can do better than the awards that have come out. I think our members deserve that and are looking forward to that.”
Last month, an arbitrator ended a strike that had divided the United Transportation Union, which represents 2,800 conductors and yard workers, by imposing a new three-year contract that favoured the railway’s proposal. That collective agreement increased wages by three per cent each year of the contract, which will be in effect until July 22, 2010.
Although the union and the company reached a tentative settlement in February following a two-week strike, the proposed one-year contract was rejected by 80 per cent of union members and the strike resumed April 11.
CN then locked out more than 300 workers, mostly in Western Canada, after they began a series of rotating strikes at eight CN terminals. They returned to work April’ after federal back-to-work legislation.
For their upcoming negotiations, the Steelworkers said family-worklife balance, pensions, overtime, contracting out and travel time were among the key issues.
The union represents 3,200 members who work across the country maintaining the railway’s rights of way.
That means the members have to travel long distances along the tracks to repair and maintain them, sometimes finding themselves eight to 12 hours away from home during their work days, Falbo said.
“It’s an issue that comes up a lot and puts a lot of strain in the members’ families because their partner’s not there and they don’t have the assistance,” he said.
“It’s not always about money, sometimes it’s also the quality of life.”
He said the timing of the talks is not unusual, since many employers like to start a couple of months earlier “to see if they can get an agreement, get a better understanding of the situation, do some homework on the concerns that are raised.”
But, he added, as far as the union is concerned, there is no pressure to reach an agreement ahead of the deadline.
The United Steelworkers represents more than 280,000 workers in the steel, manufacturing, transport and other sectors of the economy.
Shares in CN closed up 68 cents or 1.24 per cent at $55.56 on the TSX on Tuesday.