CN settles labor deal with locomotive engineers

MONTREAL — CN Rail and its Teamsters workers have agreed on an arbitrator’s ruling of a new, three-year collective agreement.

The deal comes four months after 1,700 locomotive engineers walked off the job for five days before returning to work as Parliament drafted back-to-work legislation.

The railway and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference submitted their issues last December to federally-appointed arbitrator Andrew Sims.

The decision, whose terms are retroactive to January 1, 2009, provides a 1.8 percent wage increase in 2009, 2.4 percent in 2010, and 2.6 percent in 2011, as well as dental plan benefit improvements that come into effect on April 1, 2010.

"With a secure labor agreement in place, we will now work to re-establish a positive dialogue with the TCRC, focusing on issues of common interest for the company, its employees and its customers," said Claude Mongeau, CN’s president and chief executive officer.

CN had originally offered the workers a 1.5 percent wage increase and attempted to increase the mileage cap engineers could work from 3,800 miles to 4,300.

The workers, many of whom get paid over $100,000 a year and work 16 days a month, said the offer was unsatisfactory.