Barring a settlement, CN will exercise its right under Canada
Labour Code to lockout 4,800 Unifor members in Canada at 2300 hours Monday, Feb. 23
MONTREAL, Feb. 20, 2015
/CNW/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI), saying its labour
negotiations with Unifor have reached an impasse after almost six
months of bargaining, today urged the union to accept that binding
arbitration is the best way to settle their outstanding contractual
differences. Barring such an agreement over the weekend, CN will
exercise its right under the Canada Labour Code to lockout Unifor's
4,800 members at CN at 2300 hours, Monday,
Feb. 23.
Unifor represents approximately 4,800 CN employees in
mechanical, intermodal, clerical and other areas of the company's
business in Canada.
Claude Mongeau, president and
chief executive officer of CN, said: "The differences separating
the company and union are as clear as they will ever be, and they
will not become any clearer over a month-long strike mandate
process announced yesterday by Unifor.
"Our impasse is not about charity. CN already supports many
charities and is willing to support charitable causes jointly with
Unifor, but our principles are clear -- we are not prepared to
allow financial matters related to the union itself to take
precedence over the interest of our employees.
"CN insists that Unifor focus on bargaining what matters: the
terms and conditions that apply to our employees. Unifor believes
CN should match the terms of its recent settlement with Canadian
Pacific, but that's not the right deal pattern. Our complete
settlement offers to Unifor, the last union we are currently
bargaining with, are fair, competitive and fully in line with the
amicable contract renewals that we have recently bargained with
four other unions at CN, including the Teamsters. Our offers to
Unifor did not require any meaningful concessions to work rules or
pension. They would also maintain Unifor-represented employees
working at CN among the highest paid in their trades in the
Canadian rail industry.
"We cannot accept the uncertainty that Unifor's month-long
strike mandate process will create for our customers, our employees
and the gateways we serve. Canada's trade reputation deserves labour
certainty as we conclude this round of bargaining in the rail
industry.
"We also don't need government intervention at this time.
CN and Unifor on their own can reach a resolution of their
differences through binding arbitration. It's a tried process that
we both have used many times in the past. The issues separating the
parties are clear, and that clarity will allow an arbitrator to
make an informed decision about what is the most suitable deal
pattern for our employees.
"CN hopes Unifor will agree to this reasonable path forward, and
sit down with CN over the weekend to reach either a negotiated
settlement on the terms and conditions of employment for employees,
or refer our dispute to binding arbitration.
"Failing that – and in lieu of a lengthy and unnecessary Unifor
strike mandate process – CN will exercise its right under the
Canada Labour Code to lockout Unifor's 4,800 members effective 2300
hours, Monday, Feb. 23. We will
deploy our labour disruption contingency plan, with trained
management personnel performing the work of Unifor members, in
order to protect service to our customers to the best of our
ability.
"We hope Unifor leadership will see the merits of this sensible
approach and work with us to avoid the prospects of an unfortunate
lockout of their members on Monday."
CN is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than
C$250 billion worth of goods annually
for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource
products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail
network spanning Canada and
mid-America. CN – Canadian National Railway Company, along with its
operating railway subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of
Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New
Orleans, and Mobile, Ala.,
and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., and
Jackson, Miss., with connections
to all points in North America.
For more information on CN, visit the Company's website at
www.cn.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news release is
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under
Canadian securities laws. CN cautions that, by their nature, these
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not
materialize and that current economic conditions render such
assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made,
subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to be
materially different from the outlook or any future results or
performance implied by such statements.
Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, the effects of general
economic and business conditions, industry competition, inflation,
currency and interest rate fluctuations, changes in fuel prices,
legislative and/or regulatory developments, compliance with
environmental laws and regulations, actions by regulators, various
events which could disrupt operations, including natural events
such as severe weather, droughts, floods and earthquakes, labor
negotiations and disruptions, environmental claims, uncertainties
of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and
litigation, risks and liabilities arising from derailments, and
other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by CN with
securities regulators in Canada
and the United States. Reference
should be made to "Management's Discussion and Analysis" in CN's
annual and interim reports, Annual Information Form and Form 40-F
filed with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators, available on
CN's website, for a summary of major risks.
CN assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking
statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or
changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable Canadian
securities laws. In the event CN does update any forward-looking
statement, no inference should be made that CN will make additional
updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any
other forward-looking statement.
SOURCE CN