Deal comes after strike in May: Union
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) at Canadian Pacific (CP) voted 64.7 per cent on July 20 to ratify a four-year agreement covering more than 3,000 conductors and locomotive engineers.
About 25 workers of the Kootenay Valley Railway (KVR) also ratified a five-year agreement by 91.7 per cent, said the union.
“Our members demonstrated incredible solidarity during the negotiations and the strike,” said Doug Finnson, TCRC president. “Workers won a fair deal from CP. Moving forward, we hope to continue working with the company to improve job conditions and ease labour relations.”
This comes after a short strike by CP train crews last May. Union officials are now focused on implementing the new collective agreement and moving forward with the company, said Teamsters.
Fatigue was one of the major issues behind the recent strike. Under the new collective agreement, workers will be able to book 48-hour rest periods three times a month instead of only twice. There was also improved rest provisions for yard employees in the agreement, said the union.
The new contract also addressed other equity issues, improvements to work rules, benefits and it provides a nine per cent increase over the term of the agreement. Both the main agreement and the KVR agreement expire on Dec. 31, 2021, according to Teamsters.
Teamsters represent about 125,000 workers in Canada in all industries, including over 10,000 in the rail sector.
