Here are your top FOX Business Flash headlines for March 18th.
The Canadian Pacific Railroad suspended operations and locked workers over a labor dispute early Sunday morning, with each side blaming the other for the shutdown likely to disrupt shipments of essential goods during a price surge.
“We are very disappointed with this turn of events,” said Teamsters Canada Rail Conference spokesman Dave Fulton. The union said in a statement that it has launched a nationwide strike over a dispute that it says affects 3,000 engineers, conductors and yard workers.
CLICK HERE CLICK FOX BUSINESS ON THE ROAD
Canada’s second-largest rail operator has accused the union of misrepresenting the company’s position, saying in a statement that drivers are “well aware of the damage this reckless action will cause to the Canadian supply chain.”
Labor Secretary Seamus O’Regan Jr. said CP and Teamsters are still at the negotiating table with federal negotiators.
PHOTO: Canadian Pacific train station in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. REUTERS/Ben Nelms/File Photo (REUTERS/Ben Nelms/File Photo/Reuters Photos)
“We are closely monitoring the situation and expect the parties to continue working until an agreement is reached,” he said. tweet just after midnight.
Canada, the largest country by area after Russia, is heavily dependent on the railroad to transport goods and manufactured goods to the port. The CP network runs through most of southern Canada and extends as far south as Kansas City in the United States.
The lockdown is the latest blow to Canada’s frayed supply chain, which survived last year’s floods in British Columbia, which washed out routes and suspended access to Canada’s largest port. CP said the shutdown would disrupt the movement of grain, potash and coal.
On Wednesday, CP notified the union that it would block employees on Sunday, preventing a breakthrough in negotiations over a deal involving pensions, wages and benefits.
| Ticker | Security | past | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KP | CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD | 79.97 | +0.06 | +0.08% |
It says a key issue in the negotiations is the union’s demand for higher pension ceilings. CFO Nadeem Velani told an investor conference in New York Tuesday that the railroad is unwilling to accept the demand.
Canadian company Nutrien said this week that it may have to cut potash production at its mines in Saskatchewan if the closure lasts longer than a few days.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
The most recent major disruption to rail operations in the country was an eight-day strike by Canadian National Railroad Company CNR.TO in 2019. Association of Wheat Producers.
(Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu in Bangalore and Rod Nickel in Chicago; editing by William Mallard and Muralikumara Anantaraman)