Looming CN Rail strike raises concerns for Canadian fertilizer industry

摘要

A labor dispute between the Canadian National (CN) Railway Company and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has left the Canadian fertilizer industry with concerns about a possible strike or lockout by the end of October. Contract negotiations between CN and TCRC, which represents 3,300 conductors, trainmen, yardmen, and traffic coordinators, broke down on Oct. 7, but collective bargaining reportedly resumed on Oct. 21 with the help of a federally appointed mediator. At issue, according to TCRC, are demands by CN management to reduce limitations on when trains can be operated without a brakeman, and also to extend by two hours the period that crews are sometimes required to work in one shift.