August 16, 2024 — CN and the TCRC have been in negotiations since November 2023 and CN’s goal has always been to reach an agreement that is good for its employees, its customers, and the economy.
CN wants a resolution that allows the Company to get back to what it does best as a team, moving customers’ goods and the economy, while improving conditions to make CN a great place to work.
Messages are coming from various sources and CN is sharing the facts about the negotiations to clear up any misconceptions about key issues that are the subject of rumors or questions.
What you may have heard
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Facts
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- CN’s offers compromise safety
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None of CN's offers have compromised employee health and safety in any way.
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In fact, CN’s offers aim to improve safety.
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And all of CN’s proposals respect government-mandated rest provisions (Duty and Rest Period Rules), which were developed in consultation with the Union to ensure best practices are in place to manage fatigue.
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CN has made four different offers to the TCRC since January. The first three offers addressed a wide range of topics, including wages, rest, health and safety, and labour availability.
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The latest offer proposed third-party arbitration to avoid a strike or lockout. The third-party essentially plays the role of a judge, resolving the dispute.
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The Union rejected all of those offers.
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The Union has not made any counteroffers.
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CN remains ready to engage in constructive dialogue with the Union.
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CN does care.
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CN knows that employees are spending more time at the away from home terminal (AFHT).
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CN offered to remove employees being put to bed enroute or tied up between terminals (except in emergency situations), and the removal of turn around trips at the “away from home” terminal (AFHT). This offer was rejected by the Union.
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Heldaway is an important element in this round of bargaining.
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CN wants to set a standard maximum time that all employees can spend at the AFHT. This is part of the efforts to make all TCRC-represented employees equal.
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12-hour shifts are common in the railway industry and exist currently for some TCRC-represented employees on CN’s network.
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CN is offering to ensure employees spend more time at home, in exchange for working 12-hour shifts.
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Under the Duty Rest Period Rules, employees can work up to 12-hour shifts.
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No employees will be forced into a Mobile Workforce.
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Bidding this job would be 100% voluntary.
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Assignments would be for a maximum of three months, and employees would have three cycles of 28 days away with a 7-day break to return home.
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Travel (i.e., airfare, train, taxi, etc.), hotel, and food are entirely paid by CN.
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On top of their earnings, employees who choose Mobile Workforce positions would receive a $1,000 premium per week.
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Next steps in the bargaining process
- As previously communicated on August 9, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued its decision that none of the services provided by the railways are essential by law. As a result, the earliest possible date of a work stoppage is now August 22 at 00:01 EST.
- CN requested that the Minister of Labour refer the outstanding issues to binding arbitration to avoid a labour disruption, however the Minister has chosen not to do so, at this time.
- CN and the TCRC are back at the bargaining table on August 16. We hope that the TCRC will engage meaningfully during this meeting.
- As there has been no meaningful progress at the bargaining table, CN has initiated the phased and progressive shutdown of its network to ensure the safety of the communities in which we operate and our customers cargo.
- This process started with embargoes.
- It will culminate in a lockout at 00:01 ET on August 22 unless a deal is reached, or arbitration is imposed.
- CN is doing this because it takes more than 72-hours, which is the required notice before any work stoppage, to help ensure a safe, predictable, and orderly shutdown of our network.