Unions are trying to recover lost wages because their last agreements were signed before the latest round of high inflation. Going to be lots of strikes in the next few years because of course employers don't want to pay
CN says recent regulatory changes have made it harder to find crews and necessitated a "modernization of the compensation model."
CPKC says it has been negotiating in good faith since September and offered compensation boosts and more schedule predictability, but that the railway and the union "remain far apart on the issues."
Any industry people around to confirm if these claims are as BS as they sound? CN taking breaks away is self-explanatory I guess, but I get the feeling CPKC's "predictability" of shift scheduling with "compensation boosts" means more hours and/or regular overtime. Obviously they could hire more people if the job was made more attractive, but I highly doubt they want more people. I expect they just want to squeeze more out of fewer people, as usual.