CN Rail and its employees give talks one last try

Photo: Facebook Page of CN Rail

MONTREAL – CN Rail (TSX:CNR) and its yard workers and train crews are going to try one last time to negotiate a new contract after already failing twice.

CN says the union representing the three-thousand workers, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, has agreed to resume talks.

CN says both sides have agreed the dispute will go to binding arbitration if negotiations fail.

The workers rejected a second tentative contract on Thursday after turning down one in January.

They were poised to take job action last month but the Harper government short circuited the threat by saying it would bring in back-to-work legislation.

CN president and chief executive officer Claude Mongeau says the two sides will meet next week.

“I am very pleased that the Teamsters have accepted our offer to negotiate a settlement,” he said in a statement released Saturday night.

Hours of work and contract language are the main unresolved issues.

CN says it transports about $250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business, including natural resources and consumer goods.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story, a previous version wrongly said the workers rejected a tentative contract last year. They rejected it in January