A week-long strike by thousands of CN Rail workers across Canada is about to come to an end.
Teamsters Canada said Tuesday it had reached a tentative deal with CN Rail to renew the collective agreement.
Normal operations will resume Wednesday at 6 a.m. local time across the country, the union said.
“I am pleased to announce that we’ve reached a tentative agreement with CN,” said François Laporte, president of Teamsters Canada, in a news release.
More than 3,000 conductors, trainpersons and yard workers walked off the job last Tuesday with concerns about fatigue and worker safety.
Teamsters and #CN have reached a tentative agreement to renew the collective agreement for over 3,000 conductors, trainpersons and yard workers. Normal operations at CN will resume tomorrow at 0600 local time across Canada.#canlab #cdnpoli #CNStrikehttps://t.co/XpGUSUiNNs
— Teamsters Canada (@TeamstersCanada) November 26, 2019
Union officials said details of the tentative agreement will not be released until members have had the chance to review it.
The union thanked the federal government and mediators for their work, adding they were “instrumental” in helping the two sides find common ground.
“Previous governments routinely violated workers’ right to strike when it came to the rail industry,” said Laporte. “This government remained calm and focused on helping parties reach an agreement, and it worked.”
On Friday, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs raised concerns about the strike, saying the province was experiencing supply chain interruptions on inbound and outbound goods.
Higgs urged the federal government to take “real action” to encourage both sides to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
