MONTREAL, Feb. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - Unifor issued CP Rail a strike notice for February 15 at 12:01 a.m., late last night. The notice comes after five months of negotiations with the railway.

Unifor represents approximately 1,800 workers at CP, who conduct safety inspections on all rail cars and locomotives, as well as maintenance and repairs.

"CP is incredibly profitable – 2014 was the best year ever for the railway, there is no reason that we should not be able to reach a fair agreement before the deadline," said Unifor President Jerry Dias. "CP Rail is delivering more freight with far fewer workers. This is increasingly posing health and safety concerns and more strain on our members, which we are determined to resolve at the bargaining table."

Dias said that members are frustrated with the working conditions at CP and the high strike vote of 97 per cent reflects this growing sentiment.

In 2014, CP employed 14,577 people, down by over 1,500 workers since 2011.

Negotiations are also taking place with CN Rail in Montreal. There is currently no strike deadline at CN and a strike vote has not yet been taken. Unifor has six collective agreements with CN Rail, which cover mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators, and truck drivers. Unifor Local 100 represents skilled trades in mechanical shops and Unifor Council 4000 represents intermodal, clerical, mechanics and owner operators. Unifor is the largest union at CN with more than 4,200 members.

Negotiations with CN have also been ongoing since September. Contracts with both CN and CP expired on December 31, 2014.

SOURCE Unifor