Teamsters Canada and Canadian National Railway have reached a tentative agreement to renew the collective agreement for over 3,000 conductors, trainpersons, and yard workers.
Normal operations at CN will resume Wednesday at 6 am local time across the country.
The details of the agreement, which has yet to be ratified by union members, are not yet available.
The federal government faced backlash from premiers and industry leaders to resolve the week-long strike, through mediation, arbitration, or back-to-work-legislation, as they were concerns about lost profits and a propane shortage in Quebec.
The government responded by saying the best way to stop the strike would be by talking at the bargaining table.
Teamsters Canada thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for respecting worker’s right to strike. They also thanked Labour Minister Tassi and Transport Minister Garneau for their assistance in reaching the deal.
Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte said that previous governments routinely violated workers’ right to strike when it came to the rail industry.
“This government remained calm and focused in helping parties reach an agreement, and it worked,” said Laporte.
The chief executive of CN JJ Ruest thanked railway customers for their patience and support during the strike and said that the railway is preparing to resume full operations as soon as possible.
Although the strike was only a week long, the impact was rather strong. Nutrien Ltd announced that they were temporarily shutting down and laying off 550 employees from their largest potash mine in Saskatchewan for two weeks, due to the strike.
The railway workers had decided to strike over concerns about long-hours, fatigue, and what they considered as dangerous working conditions.
CN rejected the union’s claim that the strike was revolved around concerns over workplace health and safety, saying that is was actually about worker compensation.
