WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Western Grain Elevator Association is extending thanks to both Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and CP Rail executive management for reaching a negotiated settlement quickly in the current labour dispute and thus avoiding major economic disruption for the grain sector. The WGEA also thanks the Federal Government for its leadership in bringing the threat of a potentially devastating work stoppage to an end.
“We are extremely pleased that CP Rail and its workers’ union have successfully reached a deal,” said Wade Sobkowich, Executive Director of the WGEA. “The grain sector, including western Canadian farmers, is particularly reliant on rail to get product to market, and a work stoppage at CP would have seriously compromised the grain supply chain. We are very grateful to both parties for staying at the table and negotiating a workable settlement so that Canada’s rail-reliant sectors can get back to the business of getting product to our customers.”
Grain shippers will be working hard to reduce the carry out of tonnage into the next crop year by moving as much grain as possible to customers between and now and the time the new crop is harvested in the fall. Concluding these negotiations quickly has removed the risk of labour related service disruptions that would have been devastating to the sector.
“Grain shippers are thankful for the work that Minister Hajdu and government officials have done to bring an end to this labour dispute,” concluded Sobkowich. “With the possibility of a strike behind us, we look forward to continuing to work with the government to implement the new measures contained in the recently passed Bill C-49 that will ensure grain shippers and farmers have the tools they need to succeed,” concluded Sobkowich.
The WGEA is an association of grain businesses operating in Canada which collectively handle in excess of 90% of western Canada’s bulk grain exports. Its members account for approximately one fifth of bulk railway revenue in Canada and pay annual total freight of one and a half billion dollars. For more information on the WGEA’s perspective on the rail environment visit: www.wgea.ca
Wade Sobkowich, Executive Director, WGEA (204) 942-6835 or wgea@mts.net
