Canadian National Rail union workers strike deal

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway and the union representing 3,000 employees have reached a tentative agreement to avert a labour strike.

“CN is very pleased to have reached this settlement,” said its chief operating officer Mike Cory in a statement.

A verbal agreement had been reached at 1:15 p.m. PT, after talks resumed following an overnight round of bargaining and hours before the workers were in a legal strike position.

“It’s always a good thing to avert a strike,” said Stéphane Lacroix of Teamsters Canada.

The union issued a 72-hour strike notice Saturday, which meant their workers would have been in a legal strike position early this morning.

Details of the agreement are being withheld pending ratification by union members, a process expected to take approximately 60 days.

Heading off a major rail strike is good news for the Canadian economy, said Bob Ballantyne, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada.

“I think all shippers that depend on CN will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief and I suspect the government will be breathing a sigh of relief as well,” he said.

Ballantyne had warned that a strike would be damaging to the economies on both sides of the border and cause collateral damage to non-rail workers.

A full work stoppage would have caused plant closures in the $55-billion chemicals and plastics industry. “In the case of a complete work stoppage, it would shutter most of our businesses within 48 hours maximum,” Bob Masterson, CEO of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, said before a deal was reached.

Several large shippers had written to the federal government urging them to work to avoid a work stoppage or be prepared to order striking workers back to the table. • Meanwhile, the Quebec government tabled a bill Monday forcing the province’s striking construction workers back on the job by Wednesday.

In response, a coalition of construction unions promised to contest the bill in court, saying the legislation favours construction companies.

Thousands of workers gathered in front of Quebec’s legislature earlier Monday to voice their disapproval of the government’s decision to end their strike after five days.