By Robb M. Stewart

Canadian National Railway has the go ahead for a new three-year collective labor deal with roughly 6,000 Canadian workers after an arbitrator ruled on the deal.

After six days of mediation and arbitration, arbitrator William Kaplan delivered a ruling establishing the terms of a new agreement between CN and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that includes an annual wage increases of 3%, the rail operator said Monday.

The collective deal will cover 2024 through 2026 and doesn't require ratification by workers.

CN in a statement said it was disappointed that a negotiated agreement wasn't reached at the bargaining table but was pleased it could move forward.

Last August, the federal government stepped in to break an impasse between almost 10,000 Canadian rail workers, directing CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City to resume operations and imposing binding arbitration to reach collective agreements. The government acted hours after the two major freight-rail companies locked out employees and finalized a rolling shutdown of the operations in Canada that disrupted the movement of goods from coast to coast and into the U.S.

Kaplan held two sessions with the union and company in March in an unsuccessful attempt to mediate a settlement. A hearing took place April 2 after the two sides presented all outstanding issues to the arbitrator.

The agreement with Teamsters Canada covers CN conductors, conductor trainees, yard coordinators and locomotive engineers across the company's network in Canada.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2025 14:01 ET (18:01 GMT)

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