Tribunal orders rail workers back on the job, imposes arbitration

The federal labour board has ordered thousands of rail employees back to work after a bitter contract dispute shut down the country’s two major railways.

The decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board imposes binding arbitration on the parties following an unprecedented work stoppage at Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City that halted freight shipments and snarled commutes across the country.

The ruling comes after Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the arm’s-length tribunal on Thursday afternoon to begin the arbitration process, stating that the parties were at an impasse and Canadian businesses and trade relationships were at stake.

The Teamsters union challenged the government’s move, but the board on Saturday said the tribunal had no authority to decide whether the minister’s directive was valid.

The union says it will comply with the tribunal’s decision but plans to appeal the ruling in court.

Cargo traffic and some commuter lines across Canada came to a standstill on Thursday when CN and CPKC locked out workers after months of increasingly acrimonious contract talks failed to yield a deal.