Petition introduced at SARM convention to make railroads an essential service

With a possible strike on the horizon at CP Rail, people in rural Saskatchewan are getting nervous, and so Premier Scott Moe unveiled a new petition Wednesday morning at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention.

The petition asks the federal government to start working on back-to-work legislation right away in case there is a rail disruption. It also asks for work to begin on legislation to make rail service an essential service which would preclude any future disruptions.

Moe said the province has such legislation for things like health-care and power workers.

“Rail is no different. It’s essential for communities and for people within the province of Saskatchewan,” said Moe.

“We just cannot have another disruption with respect to any of the rail services that we receive here in the province. It’s just too vital of a service for not only the Saskatchewan economy but for Saskatchewan communities and people.”

Moe said a disruption would have a catastrophic effect on the supply chain in Saskatchewan.

“This simply cannot happen, and I trust and I hope that the federal government is already considering some degree of what back-to-work legislation would look like should they need it, should there be a lockout or a strike in the days ahead,” said Moe.

When asked whether essential legislation would undermine the workers’ bargaining power, Moe contended it wouldn’t. He said the legislation would just preserve the continuity of the service.

SARM president Ray Orb supports the petition. He said the issue has been brought up to the federal government in the past but without much pushing at that level until now.

Orb said a disruption could be crucial, especially given that many livestock producers are having to bring feed in by rail right now.

“If that strike does take place … (it would affect) not only the livelihood of farmers but the lives of their cattle, their livestock. So this is becoming more like an emergency now, I think,” said Orb.

A lot of farmers are already under stress because they don’t have any feed, according to Orb, so the grain coming in by rail is crucial.

“If we run out of grain, we’re going to have some issues in the livestock sector that we haven’t seen – quite frankly – maybe never before,” he said.

Orb said this is probably the worst time ever for a major rail carrier to go on strike, given everything that’s happening in the world right now.

“Seeing this happen in Saskatchewan … it’s going to be devastating,” said Orb.

The president said the association has heard concerns about essential service legislation influencing the fairness of negotiations, and while he said he sympathizes with the workers, he knows what the demands are and, right now, he thinks it’s unrealistic.

More than 96 per cent of union members at CP Rail reportedly voted for a strike, which could happen any time after midnight on Thursday.