Federal Government Mandates Binding Arbitration in Rail Shutdown

The federal government is stepping in to resolve the railway labour dispute by mandating arbitration to get the trains moving again.

“As minister of labour, I am utilizing my powers under the Canada Labour Code to ensure industrial peace and find solutions that serve the national interest,” MacKinnon stated on Aug. 22.

The minister explained that he is invoking section 107 of the Labour Code to instruct the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assist in facilitating a resolution to the outstanding disagreements by imposing final binding arbitration.

“I have also instructed the board to prolong the duration of the current collective agreements until new agreements are reached and for both railways to resume operations immediately,” he added.

In the early hours of Aug. 22, trains across the country came to a halt as negotiations between the two major railway companies and the union failed to reach a resolution. Consequently, 6,000 Canadian National Railway (CN) workers and 3,300 Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) workers were locked out by their respective companies.