CP Rail workers walk off the job amid fears strike could further impact supply chains

The strike involving nearly 30,000 engineers, conductors and other train employees took effect at 1 a.m. ET Sunday after the union and company dug in their heels.

CP Rail trains have ground to a halt across the country after thousands of workers walked off the job early Sunday morning.

The strike involving nearly 30,000 engineers, conductors and other train employees took effect at 1 a.m. ET, after both the company and the workers’ union dug in their heels over a long-simmering contract dispute.

The two sides are at odds over 26 outstanding issues, including wages, benefits and pensions.

The office of federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement that while the work stoppage had begun both parties were still at the bargaining table with mediators and it expected “the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement.”

CP Rail indicated Wednesday night that it had issued a 72-hour notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference of its plan to lock out employees on Sunday, if the union and the company were unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.

The union then sent a strike notice to the company, which CP Rail said it had received Thursday.

The work stoppage threatens supply lines already struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roughly 45 Canadian industry groups said Thursday that any disruption would hinder Canada’s freight capacity and hurt the broader economy as it grapples with inflation, product shortages, rising fuel costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.