Canadian railway CN and the Canadian branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have a new labor contract at hand after having completed arbitration.
IBEW had threatened to go on strike at CN’s Canadian operations in June. Both parties subsequently entered into arbitration.
The new collective agreement, which has been ratified according to CN, is retroactive to Jan. 1. It will be in place for three years, running through Dec. 31, 2024. The new agreement calls for an annual 3% wage increase in 2022, 2023 and 2024, CN (NYSE: CNI) said.
IBEW represents approximately 750 unionized signals and communications employees in CN’s Canadian operations, according to the railway.
“We are satisfied to have concluded this arbitration. We continue to focus on implementing a back to basics approach by running a scheduled operation, aligning capacity with demand and working closely with our customers and stakeholders to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the best network in North America,” CN Chief Operating Officer Rob Reilly said in a Tuesdaynews release.
Meanwhile, IBEW members in CN’s U.S. subsidiaries voted to ratify a new labor agreement with the U.S. Class I railroad carriers. American IBEW members voted in favor of ratifying their labor agreement with U.S.-based Class I railroad operations in late September.
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