Canada CP Rail back-to-work bill to pass Thursday
Posted in Beavers by: admin
* Trains would then start rolling by mid-Friday
* Workers in Canada have been on strike since May 23
* Liberals criticize speed of government intervention
OTTAWA, May 31 (Reuters) – Canada’s opposition Liberals will
let the Conservative government’s bill to end a strike at
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd pass late on Thursday,
meaning trains should start rolling again by midday on Friday.
The bill passed the House of Commons on Wednesday and debate
will begin in the Senate on Thursday afternoon. Senate Liberal
spokesman Marc Roy said his party had agreed to let the bill go
through all stages on Thursday.
“The bill is expected to receive passage today,” he said.
It then will receive automatic approval from the
Governor-General, and its provisions will take effect 12 hours
later.
The Teamsters union struck on May 23, shutting down freight
in Canada of the country’s second biggest railroad and forcing
some of CP’s customers to reduce operations.
The striking workers have been without a contract since Dec.
31. The main disagreement is over CP demands to cut pension
funding by 40 percent.
Labour Minister Lisa Raitt introduced the back-to-work
legislation on Monday after her efforts to mediate between the
two sides came to naught. She said a long CP rail stoppage would
cost the economy C$80 million ($78 million) a day.
The Liberals denied her request to let the bill pass the
unelected Senate in one day on Wednesday, saying they wanted to
hear witnesses on the issue.
“There’s even more at stake here than just CP and the
railway,” Roy said. “There’s the settlement, but there’s also
the overall plan of government interference into labor
relations.”
When they were in power, the Liberals also passed
legislation to end disruptions at important companies, but they
say the Conservatives are doing it at an earlier stage in the
disputes and are thereby paradoxically encouraging
intransigence.
The Conservatives have resorted to legislation to end
strikes at Air Canada and the Canada Post mail service.
Queen’s University labor relations expert George Smith, who
will testify at the Senate on Thursday afternoon, said last week
that government intervention can actually hurt the companies, as
employees can disrupt operations with little impunity, knowing
any work stoppage will be short.
A study by the C.D. Howe Institute, a Canadian think tank,
found that a back-to-work bill triples the likelihood that in
the next round of bargaining, legislation or arbitration will
again be needed.
CP’s stock was down 0.4 percent at C$74.76 on the Toronto
Stock Exchange on Thursday morning.
Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/cprail-strike-liberals-idUSL1E8GV6MG20120531