A strike by more than 3,300 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. train crews and signal workers has been averted.

In an unusual move, labour mediators have asked the Minister of Labour to require union members vote directly on a contract offer.

Both unions are telling their members to reject the offer.

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“We’re not endorsing it,” said Doug Finnson, head of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents train engineers and conductors. “The members are going to demonstrate to CP and anybody else who’s interested that this systematic abuse of workers at CP Rail has consequences. And they cannot hide from collective bargaining forever.

“This is their final opportunity to play games,” he said by phone.

“On the recommendation of federal mediators, the Minister of Labour will direct the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to administer a ratification vote on each of the company’s final offers to the TCRC and [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers],” CP said in a statement.

Mr. Finnson declined to provide details of the company’s offer, but described it as “ridiculous.” Members will vote by an unspecified date.

Teamsters and IBEW have been without contracts since the beginning of the year, and in talks since the fall.

CP said the move means commuter rail services it works with in B.C., Toronto and Montreal will not be disrupted by a work stoppage. “CP will immediately begin to execute a safe and structured start-up of its train operations in Canada,” CP said in a statement.

Industry lobby groups including the Grain Growers of Canada and the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada have called for the federal government to step in and prevent a work stoppage from causing economic harm to the businesses that rely on railways to move their goods and raw materials.

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Keith Creel became chief executive officer of CP early last year, and vowed to improve fractious relations with the largely unionized workforce. Employees had endured layoffs and disruption under the revamp launched by Mr. Creel’s predecessor and mentor, Hunter Harrison. A Globe and Mail investigation last year found the number of dismissals for minor infractions soared under Mr. Harrison, even as a vast majority were overturned as unjust in labour arbitration.

Mr. Creel was dealt a setback in the fall of 2017 when Teamsters rejected his offer of a one-year contract extension.

And after Friday’s failed talks, Mr. Finnson declared labour relations with CP “dead.”

CP’s Teamsters train crews have gone on strike twice since 2012.

In 2015, the workers agreed to end their brief walkout and have the dispute settled by an arbitrator, after being warned by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper back-to-work legislation was coming.

In 2012, the same federal government tabled legislation to end a strike, citing harm to the economy. The government also intervened in strikes at Air Canada and Canada Post.