Canada's supply chain is already strained at a bad time.
The deadline to reach an agreement by March 20 was missed by Canadian Pacific Railway and the TCRC.
The photo was taken by Gavin Young.
The company and the union failed to reach an agreement by the March 20th deadline.
The latest development since negotiations began in September has ended in finger pointing, with both sides claiming that the other initiated the work stop.
A statement was issued by a spokesman for the TCRC at 11:41 pm on March 19th.
Dave Fulton, a spokesman for the bargaining table, said they were disappointed with the turn of events. They moved the goalpost when it came time to discuss the terms of final and binding arbitration.
The union explained the differences between a strike and a Lockout, which is initiated by the employer.
The statement was released at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, and it said that the news release was completely misrepresented.
Contrary to the TCRC Negotiating Committee's claim, the work stop was initiated by the TCRC. In reality, it was the Director General of Federal and Conciliation Services that was waiting at the table with the desire to continue bargaining.
The minister of labour said in a post that the railway and the union were still at the table with federal mediators.
Update: The work stoppage has begun, but CP and Teamsters are still at the table with federal mediators. Parties are working through the night. We are monitoring the situation closely and expect the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement.
— Seamus O'Regan Jr (@SeamusORegan) March 20, 2022
One of the largest railway operators in Canada is the Canadian Pacific, which has over 3000 locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers. Canadian farmers rely on trains to deliver their supplies offertilizer and pesticide before the spring planting season.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a top supplier of grains, has put pressure on Canada's grain growers to pick up some of the slack.
The world's biggest maker of crop nutrients says that a delay in shipments this spring could reduce crop yields later in the year when global supplies may be tighter than usual due to the war. About 75 per cent of Canada's fertilizer is shipped by rail, and supply chains are already stretched this year, according to the vice-president of distribution and logistics.
Email: bbharti@postmedia.com
Jake Edmiston reports additional reporting.
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