A lockout or possible strike in the Canadian Pacific would slow down large volumes of supplies of commodities, manufacturing and consumer goods.
Photo: James McDonald/Bloomberg News Updated March 16, 2022 9:03 pm ET.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. CP 3.22% said it would block employees on March 20 if the union representing train conductors and engineers could not agree on a new contract or agree to binding arbitration.
Since September, the railroad has been contracting or mediating with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents more than 3,000 Canadian Pacific employees. The union is seeking higher wages, pensions and benefits.
A lockout or a possible union strike will lead to a halt in large volumes of deliveries of goods, industrial and consumer goods. The strike will also delay supplies of fertilizers such as Canadian potash ahead of the spring planting season. Demand for Canadian potash has increased significantly after the supply of goods from Russia and Belarus was blocked by sanctions.
Keith Creel, chief executive of Canada Pacific, said the lockout was called in an attempt to reach an agreement with the union and end uncertainty for suppliers and consumers.
“The world has never needed Canada’s resources and efficient transportation system to deliver them more than it does today,” Creel said.
A Teamsters representative could not be contacted for comment.
Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest potash producer, said on Wednesday evening that due to uncertainties over potash supply in Eastern Europe, it plans to increase potash production this year by about one million metric tons, to about 15 million metric tons. . It says a strike in the Canadian Pacific could have a significant impact on global agricultural supply chains.
Write to Jackie McNish at [email protected]
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Appeared in print edition March 17, 2022 titled “Canadian Pacific Threatens Lockout”.