The
But hours later the company put out a release stating that while the company was still engaged in contract talks facilitated by federal mediators, the TCRC "withdrew its services and issued a news release misrepresenting the status of the talks." It added that CP was working with its customers to wind down its operations across
The union then issued a subsequent release which said that in addition to the lockout,
The office of federal Labour Minister
Last week, about 45 industry groups warned that any disruption of rail service would hinder
CP Rail had issued a 72-hour notice to the TCRC of its plan to implement a lockout on Sunday if the union and the company failed to reach a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.
The union said in its release that it wanted to continue bargaining but "unfortunately, the employer chose to put the Canadian supply chain and tens of thousands of jobs at risk."
TCRC spokesman
He said the union was willing to explore an arbitrator's decision but was unable to reach an agreement with the employer.
"They set the deadline for a lockout to happen tonight when we were willing to pursue negotiations," he said. "Even more so, they then moved the goalpost when it came time to discuss the terms of final and binding arbitration.”
CP, for its part, blamed the union for the shutdown.
"This is clearly a failure of the TCRC Negotiating Committee's responsibility to negotiate in good faith," it said in its statement.
This report by
Companies in this story: (TSX: CP)
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