CN Strike Update: Workers to go back to their jobs after law passes

OTTAWA — For the first time in eight years, the federal government has passed back-to-work legislation, forcing workers at CN Rail to head back to their posts.

The House of Commons voted in the legislation by a vote of 195 to 41 — getting approval from the governing Tories and Opposition Liberals. It was opposed by the left-of center NDP and Bloc parties.

The bill is expected to clear the Senate and receive Royal Assent on Thursday, and could likely take effect by the end of this week.

A federal arbitrator will be appointed to draft a binding contract between CN and the United Transportation Union, which is representing 2,800 striking rail workers.

The UTU ordered workers to renew strike action last week after nearly 80 percent of members rejected a tentative deal struck between the two sides in March.

CN subsequently locked out workers who participated in rotating strikes, and declared it could not negotiate a settlement with the UTU because of fragmentation within the union.

After indicating last week it would like to see both parties resolve the disruption themselves, the minority Conservatives responded to pressure from business and industry groups that feared another prolonged strike could damage the economy.

UTU leaders reacted bitterly to the passage of the back-to-work legislation today, vowing to “continue the fight over worker dissatisfaction with work rules and conditions at CN.”

The UTU also warned CN not to attempt to use the arbitration provision to pursue “a wrong-headed and illegal plan to break up the UTU’s national bargaining unit and replace it with regional bargaining units.”

UTU says it will challenge what it says is CN’s “unfair” labor strategy before the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

“This Bill appears to be intended to pave the way for CN Rail to attack our rights. They want to break up our bargaining unit in order to weaken the workers’ ability to stop management from pushing older workers out of the way and manipulating work rules and schedules at workers’ expense,” UTU Vice-President John Armstrong said.