By Canadian Press

Strike deadline for Via Rail workers extended as Unifor continues negotiations

Jul 10, 2022 | 10:25 PM

Via Rail has narrowly avoided the prospect of immediately suspending services across Canada after a strike deadline was extended to Monday afternoon.

Unifor issued a 72-hour strike notice to the national rail carrier on Friday, indicating 2,400 employees were prepared to walk off the job if a new contract could not be negotiated by 12:01 a.m. on Monday. 

A strike would see maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff all hit the picket line and force Via to pause services across the country. 

However, Unifor has issued a statement on its website and social media, saying the strike deadline has been extended to 4 p.m. eastern time on Monday.

Unifor’s national secretary-treasurer says in the statement, issued Sunday evening, that its bargaining committees are “steadfast” in pursuing a deal that “respects and values” workers.

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Unifor said job security was the main issue on the table during labour negotiations. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2022.

The Canadian Press