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Industry awaits labour board decision in railway dispute

Click to play video: 'Railway labour dispute deepens with 72-hour strike notice'
Railway labour dispute deepens with 72-hour strike notice
Canada’s national railway dispute has been tumultuous, with some workers returning to work in the morning — only for their union to give 72-hour-strike notice. The federal labour minister's call for binding arbitration Thursday hasn't eased tensions between the workers and their employers. Nor has it led to a solution to a stoppage that's left cargo and commuters across the country at a standstill. Heidi Petracek has more on a rollercoaster day in the rail dispute that has industry and Canadians anxious.

Railway workers, their union and their employers are all waiting today for a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board that will determine what’s next for the labour dispute that ground trains across the country to a halt this week.

On Thursday, the federal government asked the board to enact binding arbitration in the dispute between Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd., Canadian National Railway Co., and their workers.

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The government also asked the board to force them back to work while an agreement is hammered out.

The board summoned the parties to a meeting Thursday night and held a hearing Friday, and has said it’s addressing the issue “with utmost urgency.”

However, the Teamsters union has issued a 72-hour strike notice against CN even as the railway company started moving trains again Friday morning.

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Meanwhile at CPKC, the union has challenged the government’s directive for binding arbitration, and as of Friday the rail company’s operations remained shut down.

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