What are the rail shutdown sticking points in labour talks?

A lockout by Canada’s two main railway companies of its workers is underway, effectively putting a halt to freight train traffic in the country.

Negotiations failed to prevent a work stoppage Wednesday night, with the union and railways stuck on multiple sticking points keeping the two sides from a deal.

Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) formally locked out their employees on Thursday morning after the union said workers at CN were prepared to strike. CN in a statement the lockout came after the union representing its employees did not respond to “another offer.”

“Without an agreement or binding arbitration, CN had no choice but to finalize a safe and orderly shutdown and proceed with a lockout,” CN said in the statement.

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents more than 10,000 workers at the two railways, and CN and CPKC have each claimed the other side has refused to engage on sticking points, with mediators having been brought in to try and break that impasse.

The biggest provisions that have caused issues are around relocation, rest periods and scheduling.

Teamsters say CPKC wants to “gut the collective agreement of all safety-critical fatigue provisions.” CN has proposed what the union calls a “forced relocation scheme” which would see some workers move to various locations for several months at a time to fill labour gaps.

“Throughout this process, CN and CPKC have shown themselves willing to compromise rail safety and tear families apart to earn an extra buck,” said Paul Boucher, TCRC president, in a statement.

Teamsters said it has put forward multiple offers, but none were “seriously considered.”

CN and CPKC have each put forward differing offers and said they