CN trains to roll Wednesday morning after reaching tentative deal with union

CN Rail service will begin again at 6 a.m. on Wednesday after Teamsters Canada, the union representing 3,200 rail workers, reached a tentative deal with the company.

The union said workers would be returning to work at 2 p.m. today in order to prepare for “normal operations” to resume on Wednesday morning.  Union members walked off the job on Nov. 18.

The deal still must be ratified by union members and so details will not be made public until such time.

Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte thanked the members “for their incredible courage and solidarity,” as well as  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “for respecting workers’ right to strike”.

As the strike stranded agricultural product coast-to-coast and threatened a propane shortage in Quebec, the Liberal minority government declined to recall parliament an issue back to work legislation as critics wanted.

Asked about whether CN and the Teamsters could break their impasse, Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters that he “believed in the collective bargaining process”.

Workers for CN were demanding better working hours, action on dangerous working conditions, as well as improved pharmaceutical benefits.

The dispute between Teamsters Canada and CN Rail came to a head after CN announced on Nov. 15 that it would lay off 1,600 personnel, blaming global trade tensions and declining freight volume.