Unifor files for conciliation in contract talks with Canadian Pacific Kansas City

The union that represents mechanics and labourers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. has filed for conciliation in its contract talks with the railway company.

Unifor which represents more than 1,200 mechanics, labourers, diesel service attendants and mechanical support staff at Calgary-based CPKC said Tuesday its negotiations with the railway are at an impasse.

"We entered bargaining ready to address the persistent challenges our members face, but the employer's lack of urgency has left us with no choice but to seek assistance through the conciliation process," said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a news release.

Unifor Local 101R officially opened contract talks with the railway earlier this month.

Among the top concerns raised by the union were high levels of contracting out, forced overtime and company policies that hurt work-life balance.

The development comes as the latest challenge on the labour front for CPKC and its rail network that spans from Canada to Mexico.

The railway, along with rival Canadian National Railway Co., grappled with a countrywide work stoppage in August that ground CPKC to a halt for four days, following a two-week operational wind-down.

That work stoppage began when CP and CN locked out 9,300 workers following months of talks that failed to produce new contracts. Ottawa ultimately stepped in, ordering the federal labour board to impose binding arbitration in an effort to avoid a total supply chain breakdown.

The union involved in that dispute was not Unifor. It was the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents engineers, conductors, dispatchers and yard workers at CPKC.

On Tuesday, the railway company said it is committed to reaching a new contract with Unifor and the workers it represents.

"CPKC is and will remain focused on, and committed to, arriving at a negotiated outcome that is in the best interests of its employees and their families," said Patrick Waldron, spokesman for the railway, in an emailed statement.