Tag: strike (Page 2 of 2)

Canada’s Biggest Rail Strike in a Decade Ends

November 26, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Backlogs could snag shippers

MONTREAL/WINNIPEG (Reuters) – Canada’s longest railroad strike in a decade ended on Tuesday as Canadian National Railway Co reached a tentative agreement with workers, but shippers warned it could take weeks before service bounces back to normal.

Industry groups celebrated the end of the eight-day strike at the country’s biggest railroad, which had cost them sales and raised their expenses. News of the deal, which must still be ratified by union members, sent CN shares up by as much as 2%.

Thousands of unionized workers began heading back to their jobs, CN said, with operations expected to be in full swing on Wednesday. Union members should vote on the deal within eight weeks.

CN has rescinded 70 temporary layoff notices at an auto shipment terminal in Nova Scotia following the deal, another union said.

Canada relies on CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to move crops, oil, potash, coal and manufactured goods to ports and the United States.

Details of the agreement were not available but some 3,200 striking conductors and yard workers had been demanding improved working conditions, including rest breaks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged CN and union officials in a tweet on Tuesday and thanked workers, industry and all Canadians for their patience.

Trudeau’s minority government had faced pressure from industry and farmers to end the strike and force workers back to their jobs.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters on Tuesday that if Ottawa had intervened with legislation, “we would not have had a solution today.”

Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte noted the federal government “remained calm and focused.” CEO of Montreal-based CN J.J. Ruest thanked customers for their patience.

About half of Canada’s exports move by rail, according to industry data, and the strike would likely cost the Canadian economy less than C$1 billion ($750 million) and cut fourth-quarter growth by about 0.1 percentage point, Brian DePratto, a senior economist at TD, said.

PROPANE SHORTAGE TO PERSIST

The Canadian Propane Association warned severe shortages of the fuel in several eastern Canadian provinces could last weeks. “We need to get the inventory back up,” said association President Nathalie St-Pierre, noting the “crisis” was not over.

Garneau said CN will work quickly to clear the backlog, but added the process is complex and would take time.

Bob Masterson, chief executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, said some plants had slowed production during the strike.

Based on past rail disruptions, he said CN is likely to move critical commodities first, like propane for farms and homes and chlorine for drinking water, leaving other shippers to face delays.

PAIN FOR MINERS, FARMERS

Brendan Marshall, a vice president with the Mining Association of Canada, said miners faced hefty costs due to lost sales and plant disruptions. He said restoring normal operations could take a week for every day of disrupted service.

“Now we can hope that things can get back to normal in quick fashion. It’s cost a lot of money to farmers already,” said Markus Haerle, chairman of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Wet conditions have stalled the harvest across much of Canada, including much of Haerle’s corn crop near St. Isidore, Ontario. Those crops must be dried before they can be sold, but the rail strike held up deliveries of propane, forcing farmers to use costlier alternatives.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg. Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa, writing by Steve Scherer, editing by Louise Heavens, Steve Orlofsky and David Gregorio)

FILE PHOTO: Railcars stand idle at the CN railyards in Edmonton

British Airways, Pilots Union Agree on Preliminary Pay Deal to End Dispute

November 22, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: British Airways logos are seen on tail fins at Heathrow Airport in west London

(Reuters) – British Airways and its pilots’ union BALPA have reached a preliminary agreement to end the pay dispute that resulted in the first walkout by pilots in the airline’s history, the union said on Friday.

The agreement came after the two sides held talks under the auspices of the ACAS arbitration service.

BALPA said in a statement: “We can confirm that BALPA, BA and ACAS have put together a new pay and conditions proposal and, subject to final checks, BALPA expects it will shortly be consulting its 4,000 BA members on them.”

A BA spokeswoman said “We welcome this positive step.”

As part of the agreement, BA agreed to insert an inflation protection clause to its previous pay offer of an 11.5% rise over three years, the Financial Times reported.

The airline also offered improvements to working conditions, rostering and flight bonuses, the paper added.

British Airways pilots went on strike for 48 hours in September, grounding 1,700 flights.

BA, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group <ICAG.L>, said in September that the strikes had cost it 137 million euros ($151 million).

(Reporting by Alistair Smout in London and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Louise Heavens)

Evening taxi to Runway 6L, Toronto-Pearson

Canada’s Largest Railroad Hit by Strike, Trudeau in Hot Seat

November 19, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MONTREAL/WINNIPEG, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Thousands of workers at Canada’s largest railway went on strike for the first time in a decade on Tuesday, disrupting the shipping of commodities and sparking calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to intervene.

About 3,000 unionized workers of Canadian National Railway, including conductors and yardmen, hit picket lines after both sides failed to resolve contract issues at a time of softening demand for freight service. They continued talks on Tuesday in Montreal amid union concerns over fatigue, safety and ensuring that workers’ breaks are not reduced.

Canada, one of the world’s biggest exporters of farm products, relies on CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to move canola, wheat and other commodities over vast distances from western farms to ports. Crude oil shippers and the mining industry also depend on the railways.

The strike comes at an awkward time for Trudeau’s government, which relies on smaller parties to pass legislation and faces criticism from western provinces about its failures to get new oil pipelines built. Trudeau has said he is not reconvening Parliament until Dec. 5, and the government cannot start the process to force workers back on the job until then.

Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservatives, the second-largest party in Parliament, and Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage each separately urged Trudeau on Twitter to recall Parliament immediately.

The Canadian mining industry, which accounts for more than half of annual rail freight revenues, depends on CN to transport supplies to company sites and products from their operations.

“This strike will result in a severe reduction or elimination of railway capacity and will trigger the closure of mines with concurrent layoffs of thousands of employees beginning in a matter of days,” said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.

“SCREECHING HALT”

Industry groups ranging from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to propane and fertilizer groups said Ottawa needed to step in to limit damage to the economy.

The BC Council of Forest Industries, which represents the sector in British Columbia, expressed concerns about the disruptions caused by the strike for rail transport.

“Ninety percent of the forest products we produce are sent to export markets in North America and around the world,” Susan Yurkovich, the body’s president, said.

“A disruption of this critical transportation network will adversely impact BC forest companies at a time when we are already facing significant challenges and increasing competition from around the globe”, Yurkovich added.

CN and CP also collectively handle nearly all grain movement in Western Canada, the country’s crop belt, split roughly evenly between the railways.

The stoppage “has an impact before it even begins because companies pull back sales in anticipation of a strike,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, whose members include Cargill Ltd, Richardson International and Viterra Inc.

CN’s shipments of hazardous goods such as crude are likely to come to a “screeching halt” even if the railroad’s management steps in to limit freight volumes, said Kent McDougall, chief commercial officer at Torq Energy, which loads crude oil in Western Canada onto trains operated by both CN and CP.

A strike may temporarily constrain CN’s volumes, but will not likely have a meaningful long-term impact on the company’s earnings, Credit Suisse analysts said in a research note on Monday, adding that Ottawa has historically been quick to intervene.

Shares of Montreal-based CN were down 1%, while the benchmark Canadian share index was up slightly.

Canadian Labour Minister Patty Hajdu and Transport Minister Marc Garneau said they are monitoring the CN strike situation closely after meeting with the two sides on Monday.

CN said in a statement that it was “disappointed” at the strike action. CN’s service in the United States will continue operating despite the strike.

The company said on Friday it would cut management and union jobs as it grapples with an economic slowdown.

Rail workers with the Teamsters held their last strike in 2009, when locomotive engineers walked off the job for five days, the union said.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson, David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)

Canadian Ministers Meet with CN Rail, Union in Effort to Avert Strike

November 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MONTREAL/WINNIPEG, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Canada’s Liberal government sent two ministers on Monday to meet with representatives of Canadian National Railway Ltd and its largest union, as already hard-hit shippers pleaded for government intervention to avert a strike planned for early on Tuesday.

The threatened strike by 3,000 workers with Teamsters Canada comes after CN, the country’s largest railroad operator, said on Friday it would cut management and union jobs, as it grapples with softer economic conditions.

Labor Minister Patty Hajdu and Transportation Minister Marc Garneau were to meet with representatives from CN and the union in Montreal, Hajdu’s press secretary Veronique Simard said, following a stalemate in contract talks.

CN said it believes a strike can be averted “with the assistance of federal mediators,” after Teamsters declined to submit to binding interest arbitration. “We expect talks to continue up to Nov. 19,” CN said. Teamsters and CN reached a last-minute deal in 2017 that averted a planned strike. Canada, one of the world’s biggest exporters of farm products, relies on its two main railways to move canola and wheat over the vast distances from western farms to ports. Crude oil shippers in Alberta have also used trains in the past two years to reach U.S. refineries as an alternative to congested pipelines.

Alberta wheat and barley commissions, representing farmers, urged Ottawa to intervene, as they are already facing difficult harvest conditions because of weather. “There are a lot of farmers who already have a significant amount of their income trapped under snow,” said Gary Stanford, Alberta Wheat Commission chair. “Now adding insult to injury, we’re looking at possible CN rail strike action too.”

CN was expecting slightly lower fourth-quarter crude shipments from the third quarter, officials said on an Oct. 22 conference call.

Slumping commodity prices, congested oil pipelines and a dispute with China that has hampered Canadian agriculture exports have pressured the economies of resource-rich western provinces.

Teamsters Canada spokesman Christopher Monette said the planned strike by its conductors, train personnel and yard workers comes because workers are “hitting a wall on issues related to health and safety.”

“While we continue to negotiate in good faith and in hopes of avoiding a labor dispute, we have every intention of striking at 00:01 a.m. ET tonight (0501 GMT) unless an agreement can be reached before then,” Monette said by email.

CN shares were trading down 0.5% in early afternoon Toronto trading.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa; Editing by Tom Brown and Marguerita Choy)

Ford’s UAW Members Vote to Ratify New Four-Year Contract

November 15, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: Frankfurt hosts the international Motor Show (IAA)

DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union said on Friday that rank-and-file members at Ford Motor Co <F> have voted in favor of a new four-year labor contract with the No. 2 U.S. automaker.

The UAW will now focus on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) <FCAU>, the sole remaining Detroit automaker without a new labor contract. Talks with FCA are expected to begin on Monday, a UAW spokesman said.

The union said 56.3% of Ford’s hourly workers voted to approve the deal, which allowed the company to avoid a strike like the one that cost its larger rival General Motors Co <GM> about $3 billion (£2.3 billion).

UAW leaders said earlier this month that Ford under the deal agreed to invest more than $6 billion in its U.S. plants, and to create or retain more than 8,500 UAW jobs.

The deal also includes pay raises and lump-sum payments over the life of the contract, a pathway to full-time employment for temporary employees and unchanged healthcare coverage.

Workers at GM approved a deal in late October that ended a contentious 40-day U.S. strike, the longest automotive labor stoppage since 1970.

Detailed terms of the Ford deal – released just a week after GM workers approved their new contract – echoed those agreed to with GM, as the union typically uses the first deal as a template for those that follow.

UAW leaders managed contract negotiations with Ford and GM, including the lengthy strike, while struggling with an ongoing federal corruption probe.

To date, 10 people have pleaded guilty in connection with the criminal investigation into illegal payoffs. Just last week former UAW vice president and former GM board member Joseph Ashton was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.

Earlier this month the UAW said that its president, Gary Jones, who had been linked to the ongoing corruption probe, was taking a leave of absence.

Rory Gamble, the union’s acting head, said last week he will examine every department of the union in response to the spreading federal corruption probe to prevent future misuse of members’ dues.

(Reporting by Nick Carey and Ben Klayman in DetroitEditing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)

General Motors to Restart Mexican Plants after Labor Deal Ratified

October 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

MEXICO CITY, Oct 25 (Reuters) – General Motors Co will gradually restart operations at several idled plants in Mexico beginning this weekend, after unionized workers for the U.S. automaker ratified a new labor contract, the company’s Mexican unit said on Friday.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced earlier on Friday that its members had formally approved a new four-year labor contract with General Motors, ending a 40-day strike with the top American automaker.

GM said that by the end of next week all of its Mexican operations should be operating normally with all employees back to work.

In a statement, GM’s Mexican unit said its Ramos Arizpe motors plant will resume operating on Saturday, while its transmissions plant and Chevrolet Blazer assembly line located at the same facility will start back up on Monday. The Ramos Arizpe facility is located in the Mexican border state of Coahuila, just south of Texas.

All of the plants located at GM’s Silao facility, in central Guanajuato state, will restart on Monday.

Thousands of Silao workers had been furloughed as anxiety grew earlier this month among residents who viewed the facility as the city’s economic anchor.

Tensions over the future of manufacturing in North America were at the heart of the striking GM workers. The debate pitted U.S. labor advocates eager to reduce Mexico’s cost advantage against Mexican trade unions fighting to protect local jobs.

The strike began in September with UAW negotiators demanding higher pay for workers, greater job security as well as a bigger share of profits and the protection of healthcare benefits.

(Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)

British Airways Pilots to Strike for 3 Days in September

August 24, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.

Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.

“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.

“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”

British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.

“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.

“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”

The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)

Airbus, Boeing May Pull Out of Canada Fighter Jet Race

July 8, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Airbus SE <AIR.PA> and Boeing Co <BA.N> may pull out of a bidding process to supply Canada with new fighter jets because they say the contest is unfairly tilted towards Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N>, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Monday.

The three companies competing with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet have already complained about the way the contest is being run, and expressed concern some of the specifications clearly favour the U.S. firm, industry sources have said in recent weeks.

Next week the government is due to release the so-called request for proposals – the final list of requirements – for the 88 new planes it wants to buy. The contract is worth between C$15 billion (£9 billion) and C$19 billion and the planes are due to be delivered between 2025 and the early 2030s.

Boeing and Airbus have now formally written to Ottawa expressing concerns about the current requirements, said two sources familiar with the matter who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation. The fourth bidder is Sweden’s Saab AB <SAABb.ST>.

Pat Finn, the defence ministry’s top official in charge of procurement, confirmed one of the four companies had sent a formal letter but gave no details. The final request for proposals is due out on July 17 and modifications are still being considered, he said.

“We continue to engage all four of them,” he said in a telephone interview. “We have had some comments (such as) ‘If changes are not made in such a place then we would frankly consider possibly not bidding.'”

“We are looking at those very seriously. I can’t say that we will make every change, but as far as we know we continue to have four bidders in the race.”

Airbus declined to comment. Boeing did not respond to a request for comment.

Canada has been trying unsuccessfully for almost a decade to buy replacements for its ageing F-18 fighters. In May, Ottawa changed the rules to allow Lockheed Martin to submit a bid, prompting Boeing to take the unusual step of announcing publicly it was surprised.

“Anyone who is not Lockheed Martin has expressed a very strong view,” said one of the sources. “We have been pretty clear with the government that this is not a request for proposals that lends to our participation.”

At least one firm has expressed unhappiness that the requirements emphasize the ability to carry out first strikes on targets abroad, a strength of the F-35, said the sources.

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists the competition is not rigged. Finn said the defence ministry also had made changes to the requirements at the request of Boeing, Airbus and Saab.

Canada is part of the international consortium that developed the F-35. The former Conservative administration said in 2010 it would buy 65 of the jets but later scrapped the decision, triggering years of delays.

Trudeau came to power in 2015 vowing not to buy the F-35 on the grounds that it was too costly, but Ottawa has since softened its line.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: A real-size mock of F-35 fighter jet is displayed at Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo

Belgian Pilots Back Ryanair Pay and Conditions Deal

February 15, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian pilots have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a deal with Ryanair on pay and rosters, the Belgian cockpit association (BeCA) said on Friday.

The BeCA said that 98.5 percent of those participating in a secret ballot had voted in favour of the deal that the association said guaranteed stability for pilots for the next four years and harmonised working conditions and pay for all pilots based in Belgium.

Belgian cabin crew and pilots had reached a preliminary deal in October.

“However, it is not all over. It is now up to Ryanair to establish an appropriate local management structure that will guarantee the quick implementation of these commitments,” BeCa said in a statement.

Ryanair suffered a number of strikes last year by cabin crew and pilots, forcing it to cancel hundreds of flights, after the airline recognised unions for the first time in 2017.

The Irish low-cost carrier has sought to reach agreements with unions in a series of countries across Europe.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Ryanair, its pilots, and Niki

December 15, 2017 / WIL BALDWIN

Facing the imminent threat of a strike by its pilots, Ryanair has offered for the first time in its 32-year history to recognize the rights of its pilots to unionize. The action is a last ditch effort to avert a planned pilot strike scheduled to take place on December 20. Ryanair had previously refused to recognize unions as part of its ultra low-cost model, which has helped to turn the small Irish regional airline into one of Europe’s largest air carriers. “Recognizing unions will be a significant change for Ryanair, but we have delivered radical change before,” Chief executive Michael O’Leary said in a statement. “We hope and expect that these structures can and will be agreed with by our pilots early in the new year.”

Ryanair pilots in several countries were threatening strike actions in the days leading up to the Christmas Holidays. Strikes had already been scheduled to take place in Ireland, Italy, and Portugal. The Irish based company stated that it had sent a letter to unions in Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain this morning. The letter stated that the airline was ready to hold talks to formally recognize the unions, and asked for confirmation that the planned industrial actions would be canceled. The pilots have been angered by Ryanair following the announcement of 20,000 flight cancellations that began in September, and are expected to extend into March of 2018. The airline blamed the cancellations on a lack of standby pilots due to a rostering error that followed rule changes by Irish regulators. Pilots have stated that Ryanair is facing a major staffing shortage, a claim that management has repeatedly denied.

In other news today, Ryanair has stated that it is looking into buying the assets of insolvent Austrian leisure airline Niki. Niki was formerly part of the now insolvent carrier Air Berlin, which is seeking a new buyer after Lufthansa decided to drop its bid for those assets two days ago. The airline wants to look into the possibility of using Niki’s take-off and landing slots at Berlin’s Tegel Airport to operate a 9 or 10 aircraft base at the airport. “At first look, Niki’s Tegel slot portfolio would be woefully inadequate to support a nine-aircraft base but we will review the utility of Niki’s slots as their availability becomes clearer,” Ryanair said in an email statement. The rest of the Air Berlin assets were divided amongst Lufthansa and European low-cost carrier EasyJet.

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