Canadian rail workers want a better lifestyle to accompany their good pay, and the size of their union allows them to demand it, says a Manitoba professor.Barry Prentice, professor of supply chains at the University of Manitoba says rail workers are paid well, including the 9,300 employees for the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference.“I always tell my students, they're the highest paid sector of transport, and by a long shot,” Prentice told Western Standard in an interview.The Teamsters are currently in a labour dispute with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway. Both companies have threatened to lock the employees out August 22, while the Teamsters have said they're ready to strike on the same date.“What they're seeking ... are really issues of working conditions. The difficulty, of course, for the railways, is they still have to operate 24/7 and trying to change their services to fit whatever the union is asking for may be a lot more difficult than just raising wages," Prentice explained.In January, CN offered the Teamsters agreement the railway says protected safety and acquired rights while improving work/life balance. The offer was improved in April with a focus on better wages, job security, and guaranteed earnings for employees. In May, CN then presented a simplified offer within the framework of the existing agreement.The Teamsters refused all offers and CN offered to submit to binding arbitration in June, The Teamsters refused this as well. So, on August 9, CN called on the government to impose binding arbitration.“By combining Duty and Rest Period Rules (DRPR), paid sick days, personal leave days, and existing rest and vacation provisions in their collective agreements, conductors and locomotive engineers currently work approximately 160 days a year,” CN said on a web page providing updates on negotiations.According to CN, in 2023 the average conductor earned $121,000, and the average locomotive engineer $150,000, not including pension and medical benefits.In a post online, the Teamsters say the companies want new concessions on crew scheduling, rail safety, and fatigue management.“CPKC wants to gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions. The end result will mean train crews would be forced to stay awake even longer, increasing the risk of derailments and other accidents. CPKC has also failed to address the understaffing of rail traffic controllers,” the Teamsters insist.“Meanwhile, CN is targeting fewer articles around fatigue, but still enough to raise safety concerns. CN aims to implement a forced relocation scheme, which would see workers ordered to move across the country for months at a time to fill labour shortages. CN also wants to extend workdays in all provinces west of Ontario.”Prentice said that, like truckers, rail workers spend a lot of time away from home — a lifestyle most would understandably not prefer. In past decades, many people took the jobs anyway. He said 300,000 Canadians worked in the railways early in the 20th Century when the total population was under 8 million people.On August 9, the Candian Industrial Relations Board decided that rail service was not essential. While Prentice said that decision may have been justifiable within the parameters the board considered, government could choose a different approach.“Government makes the rules, government can change the rules. If they want to change the rules to stop this merry-go-round, they can do it. But is there the political will there to make that kind of change?” he asked.“They'd like to have the parties work it out themselves. But all we can really say is, it speaks to the power of this union which has such a large number of employees.”
