(The Canadian Press circulated the following story on August 6.)
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway says its traffic controllers have ratified a three-year contract proposal, ending a seven-week strike-lockout.
The agreement, to Dec. 31, 2005, provides for wage, pension and benefit improvements, including pay increases of two, three and two per cent over the next three years, along with other adjustments.
The Rail Canada Traffic Controllers union represents about 220 Canadian rail traffic controllers who monitor train operations on CPR’s network.
RCTC members in Calgary, Winnipeg and Montreal ratified the memorandum of settlement on Tuesday to end the dispute, CP Rail and the union said Wednesday in a joint release.
“The company has realized work-rule flexibility that will help to improve rail traffic control,” the release said.
The controllers have been without a contract since Jan. 1. The union went on strike and the company locked out the controllers on June 18 after negotiations broke down.
Some employees are scheduled to return to work on Saturday.
Darrell Arnold, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers national adviser, said ratification “gets our members back to work and we are happy about that. While many of our targeted improvements have been met, the strike has taken its toll on the union/management relationship.
“The company has made a solid commitment to address some outstanding issues and they have assured us that the work will get underway immediately.”
Ed Dodge, CP Rail’s chief operating officer, said the agreement “provides a constructive end to a long period of negotiation and delivers benefits to both the employees and the company.”
The RCTC is a division of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, representing about 500 rail traffic controllers on four railways in Canada.
Canadian Pacific Railway operates in Canada and the U.S. with a 22,500-kilometre rail network serving cities from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northwest and Midwest regions.
On the Toronto stock market Wednesday, CP Rail shares (TSX:CP) fell 19 cents to $33.56.