(Reuters) – Canadian National Railway said on Friday that labor union Unifor has filed a notice of dispute to the Canadian Minister of Labor, just three days after initiating negotiations.
Also known as “conciliation”, the notice of dispute can be sent by either party to the Canadian Minister of Labor during a negotiation and typically results in the appointment of a conciliation officer to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.
“While CN is disappointed that Unifor is filing the Notice so early in the process, the Company is committed to reaching negotiated agreements with the Union,” the railroad operator said.
Unifor asserted that it has filed for conciliation to move talks into a positive direction, adding that, within 24 hours of negotiations, CN issued a notice to the union expressing its intent to lay off at least 65 of its members.
“CN Rail came to the table with demands for concessions that would undermine our members’ rights and working conditions,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said.
The Union represents 3,600 members at CN, which includes rail car technicians, heavy-duty mechanics, diesel engine mechanics, crane operators, as well as clerical, administration and customer support employees among others.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)