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CN Rail workers ending strike action as parties agree to enter arbitration

CN Rail workers strike at the CN MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ont., on Monday, June 20, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press - image credit)
CN Rail workers strike at the CN MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ont., on Monday, June 20, 2022. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press - image credit)

The Canadian National Railway and the union representing 750 of its signal and communication workers have agreed to enter binding arbitration, bringing an end to a two-week strike.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers informed CN of its intention to strike in mid-June after failing to reach a new agreement on benefit and wage increases. Those issues remain unresolved and will be addressed through arbitration.

The strike will end at midnight on Tuesday, according to a press statement from CN.

"CN would like to thank its management, employees and contractors for their service which allowed rail operations to continue uninterrupted during the strike," the statement said.

IBEW confirmed the strike was ending but didn't provide a statement at time of publication.

CN went through an eight-day strike by more than 3,000 workers represented by Teamsters Canada in November 2019. That strike halted shipments and disrupted industries across the country.

CN hauls more than 300 million tonnes of commodities and consumer goods across the continent each year.