CN Rail conductors and yard service workers went on strike Monday (Feb. 12) to fight company demands that some say will cause accidents. A plan to increase shifts to 10 hours and reduce rest time from 14 hours to eight hours caused some local CN workers to walk off the job, and a picket line has sprung up at the rail yard entrance on Queens Way.
"Increased work and decreased rest," said conductor Larry Mahedy while picketing on Monday (Feb. 12). "That doesn't play safe."Co-worker Rob Payette agreed: "It's getting a lot more dangerous. The public should be concerned."
CN wants conductors to do the yard work once the train pulls in, which means lost jobs for the crew that formerly did the work.The changes will affect safety and their quality of life, said Mahedy.
"How much time and I going to have to enjoy my family?" he said. "I'm going to have to go to bed right away - hopefully I can sleep - then go right back to work."
Both say negligent CN practices have caused accidents, including a derailment near Lillooet that killed two employeesand another in the Cheakamus Canyon that resulted in thousands of gallons of caustic soda spilling into the Cheakamus River.
Mahedy said CN Rail is not familiar with the winding canyons and inclining terrain of B.C., and the company never learned since the company laid off many of BC Rail's most senior trainmen. He said longer trains and inadequate marshalling going on under CN direction is a cause for alarm.
Mahedy said he's had concerns ever since CN Rail bought BC Rail in 2003, but it's taken a national spotlight on CN employee dissatisfaction to bring attention to their own local plight.
Workers that were kept on following the 2003 takeover lost a number of benefits, including one week's vacation, medical and dental plans and pension plan security.
"Life was much better with BC Rail," said Payette.
CN workers nationwide are seeking a wage increase of 4.5 per cent over two years, along with a four-per cent increase in the third year of the contract.
