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The Canadian Pacific railyard is pictured in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia February 15, 2015. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd prepared to operate a reduced freight schedule run by its managers on Sunday, after talks on a new contract broke down and more than 3,000 train engineers and conductors walked off the job. REUTERS/Ben Nelms REUTERS/Ben Nelms

The Canadian government is bent to intervene in the ongoing labour strike at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. as the work stoppage threatens to hurt the entire Canadian economy.

On Sunday morning, about 3,000 locomotive engineers and conductors represented by the Teamsters union walked out on their jobs to vent their disgust over failed talks on a number of issues, including wages, benefits, scheduled work and rest times. The company maintained it wants to eliminate antiquated policies and procedures that will modernise the firm to meet customer demands. The workers alleged the proposed work schedule is too much.

Teamsters Canada Rail Conference or TCRC, in a statement, said the breakdown in negotiations was triggered by disagreements on rest time and other scheduling issues. “We require sufficient fatigue countermeasures to protect our members’ safety and health,” the statement said.

But the company flatly denied that it meant to make the staff work like horses. In a statement, the company berated the union’s concerns on members’ safety and health when in fact “72 percent of all engineers and conductors do not take the time off they are entitled to.”

The squabble between the two parties will affect and disrupt major industries throughout North America, the New York Times said. These include automakers, oil companies, paper businesses, lumber suppliers and agriculture and mining companies. “This has the potential of being very, very bad,” the Globe and Mail quoted Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association.

As such, the Canadian government will race a measure to push both sides to a binding arbitration. Still, the legislation could take several days before it gets really implemented, a damning situation for customers that have freight sitting on the loading dock.

"I am incredibly disappointed that the TCRC failed to reach an agreement with CP Rail," Labour and Status of Women Minister Kellie Leitch said in a statement. She had been involved in the bargaining effort. "Due to this reckless disregard for Canadians and the Canadian economy, our government will review all available options to end any work-stoppage expediently, up to and including the introduction of legislation in Parliament."

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