Labour groups slam Senate suggestion of new rules aimed to avoid job action by rail, port workers

Labour groups slam Senate suggestion of new rules aimed to avoid job action by rail, port workers

CUPE president says government should put report 'straight into the trash bin'

Labour leaders are speaking out against a report from a Senate committee suggesting the government adopt new rules to avoid work stoppages at ports and on railways.

The Senate Committee on Transportation and Communications tabled the report, called Keep Canada Moving, on June 11. It looks at how the collective bargaining process in those industries could be modernized to reduce work stoppages and keep the supply chain stable.

To make that happen, the report suggests the creation of a new supply chain tribunal, to implement mediation or arbitration from the start of the bargaining process, if a strike or lockout would “adversely affect the national interest.”

If mediation is unsuccessful, binding arbitration could be ordered to prohibit the strike or lockout.

The report has been met with strong backlash from organized labour groups, who say it could infringe on essential workers' rights.

“The government should put this Senate report where it belongs — straight into the trash bin,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock in a statement.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan says the right to strike is fundamental, and workers will continue to utilize the power of labour action.

“Just because [the government changes] laws, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be less worker unrest. It doesn’t even mean there will be fewer strikes,” he said.

“It just means the strikes that happen will be illegal.”

The Senate report also recommends amending the Canada Labour Code to explicitly lay out the Labour Minister’s powers, and to remove the word “immediate” when describing an essential service. That could potentially give more ground to the Canada Industrial Relations Board, which interprets and applies federal labour laws, to impose binding arbitration.

“These measures will improve the performance of Canada’s transportation network and strengthen Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner,” a news release from the Senate committee said.

Labour action by rail and port workers tends to “get lots of attention, because rail and port infrastructure is so critical to the Canadian economy,” said Kent Fellows, an economics professor at the University of Calgary.

In 2024, a CPKC work stoppage ended soon after it began, when the government enforced binding arbitration. At the time, a CPKC work stoppage was estimated to cost $340 million per day.

Nearly 300 signal workers at CPKC have been off the job since May 31. The railway says service has continued.

Ian Guldberg is a grain farmer near Drumheller, Alta., who has seen how detrimental it can be to his industry when rail cars stop moving, or work stops at ports.

He says he respects workers’ rights, but says he also thinks about the cost of strikes to his business and other industries.

“It's always one of those tricky things when it's sort of like well, okay, you might be fighting the good fight, but you're sort of using me as an unintentional pawn to win that fight, and that's hurting my business,” said Guldberg.

“And so it makes it a little harder for us to support that kind of work action sometimes.”

The Senate will debate the report, and could adopt it and send it to the government for a response. There is no requirement for the government to adopt it.

Jennifer is a reporter with CBC Calgary. Previously, she worked for CTV News in Toronto. You can reach her at jennifer.keiller@cbc.ca