Talks with CN break down, two sides to regroup in January

MONTREAL, Dec. 18, 2014 /CNW/ - CN and Unifor have been unable to reach a new tentative collective agreement, after months of negotiations and long hours this week at the bargaining table. Unifor had four CN bargaining tables meeting concurrently since Monday morning, in Montreal. 

Unifor opened ne‎gotitiations with CN on September 19, in advance of the expiry of the current agreement on December 31, 2014.

There was some progress made over the week, but there have been several stumbling blocks on non-economic issues that prevent the talks from moving forward.

"There is frustration on the part of all of the bargaining committees that CN has refused to address the issues necessary that would help move discussions along," said Unifor President Jerry Dias, who has been participating in the negotiations.

The two sides will schedule future meetings in January to continue the negotiations.

Unifor has five collective agreements with CN Rail, which cover mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators, and truck drivers. Unifor Local 100 represents skilled trades in mechanical shops and Unifor Council 4000 represents intermodal, clerical, mechanics and owner operators.  

Unifor represents 12,500 rail workers across Canada, and more than 305,000 members across the country in every economic sector. 

SOURCE Unifor