Teamsters will respect the back-to-work legislation and its 4,800 members who work for CP will be back on the job tomorrow…
LAVAL, QC, May 31, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The back-to-work legislation has received the Royal Assent this afternoon (Thursday) not long after Teamsters Canada's lobbyist, Phil Benson, appeared before the Senate.
The officers of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) disagree with the back-to-work legislation forcing some 4,800 Canadian Pacific (CP) workers to report for work tomorrow. Still, the union is advising members to obey the law.
It turned out that the company strategy was to wait until the government stepped in to legislate employees back to work. The strike lasted 10 days but failed to resolve important issues for CP rail workers.
"The drastic cut in pensions angered our members," said TCRC vice-president and chief negotiator Doug Finnson. "A pension plan is a deferred salary, not just money the company can distribute to its shareholders and managers without being accountable to anyone."
Work rules and fatigue management are also key issues. The Teamsters Union plans to systematically inform the public of all railway incidents associated with fatigue management.
"We're not going to let Canadian Pacific endanger the lives of our members and of people living close to railroad tracks," cautioned Teamsters Canada president Robert Bouvier. "We're going to keep fighting until CP respects its workers and gives them the rest they need."
The Minister will appoint a mediator, who will have 90 days to settle the dispute.
The Teamsters Union represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
Stéphane Lacroix, Director of Communications, Teamsters Canada
Mobile: 514-609-5101
Office: 450-682-5521 x236
Email: [email protected]
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