CN engineers ratify new contract

The 1,800 locomotive engineers who work for Canadian National Railways ratified a new three-year contract today, retroactive to January 1. A majority (95 per cent) of members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) voted to accept the contract, which includes a 9 per cent wage increase over three years, to the end of 2014, as well as benefits improvements. The grievance procedure and rest time provisions have been improved, according to an announcement from the Teamsters Union, which represents 125,000 members in Canada in all trades.

The voting was done by means of a new electronic system set up for the purpose by a third party. TCRC president Rex Beatty called the vote historic, the result showing a resounding endorsement of the agreement by the union’s members.

The agreement comes at a time when Canadian National Railway is showing strong economic performance. The company announced two days ago that its fourth-quarter earnings were better than had been expected. It showed earnings of $581 million in the quarter ending December 31, an increase of 16 per cent over the same period last year. As a result, the quarterly dividend paid to shareholders will increase 15 per cent, to 32.5 cents.