In a move to protect the safety of employees, CN issued approximately 450 temporary layoff notices to workers on Tuesday..CN said they were “forced to initiate a disciplined and progressive shutdown of its operations in Eastern Canada” on Feb. 13 and that has moved to temporary layoffs for approximately 450 employees as of Tuesday..The Montreal-based railway said they had laid off employees in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which has affected Unifor employees..“Unifor is concerned with the impact that our members in Halifax have felt,” said Unifor National representative Bruce Snow..“We are going to mitigate the layoffs to the best of our ability.”.The union said up to 6,000 positions could be at risk from CN and VIA rail with the continuing blockades..The protests, which purport to be a show of solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, have affected CN across Canada..“With over 400 trains cancelled during the last week and new protests that emerged at strategic locations on our mainline, we have decided that a progressive shutdown of our Eastern Canadian operations is the responsible approach to take for the safety of our employees and the protestors,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer at CN..“This situation is regrettable for its impact on the economy and on our railroaders as these protests are unrelated to CN’s activities and beyond our control..“The protesters trespassed on active railway tracks and on active trains to hang their banners and take photos of themselves. Trespassing on railway property and tampering with railway equipment is not only illegal, but also exceedingly dangerous.”.A statement on the company website states that “CN has sought and obtained court orders and requested the assistance of enforcement agencies to end these illegal blockades.”.The statement also said that the protests in Vaughn, Ontario had ended as of Sunday..CN recently ended a week-long employee strike last year that saw shipments of goods undelivered and provinces at serious risk of being unable to receive fuels needed to provide heat..Three shipping companies have also called on the federal government to intervene as their cargo sits without land transport..“(The blockades are) harming the reputation of Canadian ports and the Canadian supply chain,” said Robert Lewis-Manning, president of the Chamber of Shipping..“Even a resumption of services at this stage will take weeks to resolve and impacts the markets that Canadian shippers serve.”.CN transports more than $250 billion dollars worth of goods annually, including propane, oil, grain and other manufactured products..Deirdre is a Senior News Reporter for Western Standard..story ideas/info dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com @Mitchell_AB on Twitter
In a move to protect the safety of employees, CN issued approximately 450 temporary layoff notices to workers on Tuesday..CN said they were “forced to initiate a disciplined and progressive shutdown of its operations in Eastern Canada” on Feb. 13 and that has moved to temporary layoffs for approximately 450 employees as of Tuesday..The Montreal-based railway said they had laid off employees in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which has affected Unifor employees..“Unifor is concerned with the impact that our members in Halifax have felt,” said Unifor National representative Bruce Snow..“We are going to mitigate the layoffs to the best of our ability.”.The union said up to 6,000 positions could be at risk from CN and VIA rail with the continuing blockades..The protests, which purport to be a show of solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, have affected CN across Canada..“With over 400 trains cancelled during the last week and new protests that emerged at strategic locations on our mainline, we have decided that a progressive shutdown of our Eastern Canadian operations is the responsible approach to take for the safety of our employees and the protestors,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer at CN..“This situation is regrettable for its impact on the economy and on our railroaders as these protests are unrelated to CN’s activities and beyond our control..“The protesters trespassed on active railway tracks and on active trains to hang their banners and take photos of themselves. Trespassing on railway property and tampering with railway equipment is not only illegal, but also exceedingly dangerous.”.A statement on the company website states that “CN has sought and obtained court orders and requested the assistance of enforcement agencies to end these illegal blockades.”.The statement also said that the protests in Vaughn, Ontario had ended as of Sunday..CN recently ended a week-long employee strike last year that saw shipments of goods undelivered and provinces at serious risk of being unable to receive fuels needed to provide heat..Three shipping companies have also called on the federal government to intervene as their cargo sits without land transport..“(The blockades are) harming the reputation of Canadian ports and the Canadian supply chain,” said Robert Lewis-Manning, president of the Chamber of Shipping..“Even a resumption of services at this stage will take weeks to resolve and impacts the markets that Canadian shippers serve.”.CN transports more than $250 billion dollars worth of goods annually, including propane, oil, grain and other manufactured products..Deirdre is a Senior News Reporter for Western Standard..story ideas/info dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com @Mitchell_AB on Twitter
