As railway traffic begins to get back to normal, there are still lingering issues that need addressed regarding how Canada found itself in a dual railway strike at all.
“I hope this strike has shown our government that our system is broken,” says Karen Proud, president and CEO of Fertilizer Canada. Proud says that this dual strike should be the wake-up call Canada’s government and regulators need to take action so we’re never in a situation like this again. What’s more, there are impending potential labour disruptions already in the queue at the Port of Montreal and West Coast Ports.
Proud says that there has already been research and reports into what could be done to avoid these large-scale, hyper-destructive logistic disruptions, including changes to the labour code, an increase in transparency of the dispute resolution process, and contract terms.
If nothing else, this latest strike has shed light on just how little the industry and government itself understand the use of Section 107 in labour disputes. While Proud is glad that labour minister Stephen MacKinnon invoked the section to get railways back running, there’s still plenty of unknowns regarding timelines, appeals, and potential court action by unions.
There are reasonable options, Proud adds, to preserve the rights of the workers and employers in bargaining agreements while also protecting consumers, farmers, and industry from a complete economic shutdown — and the time is now for government to take action.
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