By Paul Vieira


OTTAWA-Talks between Canada's two big railroads and the union representing about 9,000 of their employees on new labor deals are scheduled to restart Wednesday, days before the country's labor-relations board is expected to issue a ruling that kicks off a strike deadline at both companies.

A simultaneous strike at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City this month risks upending North America's supply-chain network.

Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon met with representatives from Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Teamsters Canada over the long holiday weekend in Canada. He said all parties have agreed to restart negotiations this week alongside federal labor mediators.

"We expect these negotiations to be productive and substantive engagements that meet the needs of this moment," MacKinnon said in a social-media post on Monday.

Canadian officials averted a strike in late May after they asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to rule on whether the railroads must transport certain goods during a labor disruption. Both Canadian National and CPKC have said they have received guidance from the board indicating a decision could be delivered by Aug. 9.

Both railroads said a strike could begin as soon as 72 hours after the board issues its ruling.

Reverberations from a simultaneous strike would likely extend across North America. Montreal-based Canadian National operates about 20,000 miles of tracks, connecting Canada's Eastern and Western coasts with the South of the U.S. and carries about 300 million metric tons of cargo annually. CPKC's network also runs about 20,000 miles, serving markets across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Teamsters Canada said the talks with the railroads had stalled after Canadian officials asked the labor-relations board to weigh in on essential goods. It said the companies wanted concessions on issues pertaining to crew scheduling, rail safety, and fatigue management.

CPKC said its desire was to avoid a work stoppage, and that it remained hopeful that talks could result in renewed agreements. A spokesman for Canadian National wasn't immediately available for comment.


Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-06-24 0906ET