An unprecedented lockout of rail workers throughout Canada lasted less than 24 hours and trains will soon be running nationwide again after the federal government stepped in to resolve a labour dispute.
Both Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have ended the lockout of rail workers after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration. About 9300 workers were locked out as of 12:01 AM yesterday morning.
The two rail lines had stated they wanted to see binding arbitration as a means to end the dispute, and both said they were working to get their lines open again as soon as possible. Union representatives, meanwhile, expressed disappointment in the ruling.
Ottawa had been under some pressure from both provincial politicians and businesses to force a resolution to keep the rail lines operational. Not only would a lengthy stoppage have been a huge drain on the economy, it also would’ve meant thousands of commuters would need to find another way to get to work (as was the case on Thursday morning).
The move to force arbitration drew some scathing criticism on X (formerly known as Twitter) from NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
“The Liberal govt’s decision to undermine 9,300 Canadian rail workers with a binding arbitration sends a message to big corporations like CN & CPKC: Being a bad boss pays off,” Singh posted. “Justin Trudeau’s actions are cowardly, anti-worker, & proof that he will always cave to corporate greed.”
