Via Rail says services across Canada could be suspended next week, after receiving 72-hour strike notice from the union representing about its 2,400 employees.
In a notice posted on its website, Unifor said that if a deal cannot be reached by 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 11, maintenance workers, onboard service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service personnel will be on the picket line.
He said Unifor Council 4000 and Unifor Local 100 held strike votes from June 20 to July 1, and the results were 99.4% in favor of a strike at the local. Local 100 and 99.3% in favor of a strike by members of Council 4000.
Unifor said a key issue was job security and its members were frustrated that the company “continues to make concessions and not work towards a fair and just collective agreement.”
In its own statement, Via Rail said it remained committed to negotiating in good faith with the aim of reaching a new agreement without any service disruptions before the deadline.
However, he warned that if the two sides failed to reach an agreement, all services would be suspended for the duration of the strike and until normal operations could safely resume.
The company said the potential labor disruption comes at a time when it has resumed nearly all of its services, and it acknowledged this would be a major disruption to passengers and communities across the country.
Via Rail said affected passengers can change their reservations free of charge or request a full refund for unused tickets.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2022.