(The Canadian Press circulated the following story on May 18.)
MONTREAL — CN and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference reached a tentative deal just before a strike deadline Tuesday night, averting a strike that would have crippled commuters in Toronto and Montreal.
The five-year agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2004. Details were being withheld pending ratification by union members.
The union represents 1,750 CN locomotive engineers who could have gone on strike at midnight.
A strike would also have interrupted freight service in many parts of Canada although CN said it had contingency plans in place to deal with disruptions.
A work stoppage would have stranded 150,000 GO Transit commuters in the Toronto area and another 36,000 users of Montreal’s Agence metropolitaine de transport.
The threat of hurting commuters weighed heavily on negotiators, said union president Gilles Halle.
“We’ve been extremely careful not to hurt any workers that use these commuter services,” he said in an interview. “We represent working people and we don’t want to hurt them.”
Mr. Halle said negotiations likely went to the wire because there were so many sensitive issues at stake.
For the union, the two main points of contention were offsetting losses caused by the 1998 elimination of a profit-sharing program, and gaining provisions on work hours in western Canada.
The deal provides wage increases and a signing bonus that exceeds the loses from the elimination of the profit-sharing, Mr. Halle said.
CN freight locomotive engineers earn about $86,000, while commuter-train engineers make about $80,000 annually.
Mr. Halle said the agreement satisfies both sides and brings some stability to the industry.
Two mediators named by the federal government had been helping Teamsters Canada and the rail company to reach a deal.
CN said it had tabled a fair and reasonable offer that provided for improved wages and benefits.
Company spokesman Mark Hallman declined to characterize the changes that were required during negotiations to achieve the agreement.
“This allows us to get focused on our customers and their transportation needs,” he said in an interview.
Ontario’s Premier, anticipating commuter chaos, had implored the two sides to recognize the disruptive consequences of a strike.
“Understand how many commuters are heavily dependent on this important transit service,” said Dalton McGuinty.
The Montreal agency that runs commuter service on two train lines that would have been affected by a strike had suggested customers find alternative transportation.
CN said it had contingency plans to maintain core freight operations in the event of a strike. But spokeswoman Louise Filion conceded there would inevitably be delays for some customers.
Via Rail Canada said it didn’t expect its regular activities would be interrupted by such a strikes since engineers working for the passenger rail service are not involved in the labour dispute.