The union that represents mechanics and workers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. filed a request for conciliation as part of its contractual negotiations with the railway company.

Unifor — which represents more than 1,200 mechanics, laborers, diesel service workers and mechanical support staff at the Calgary-based CPKC — said Tuesday its negotiations with the railway are at an impasse.

“We entered negotiations ready to address the ongoing challenges our members face, but the lack of urgency on the part of the employer left us with no choice but to seek assistance under the conciliation process,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in a press release.

Unifor Local 101R officially opened contract negotiations with the railway earlier this month.

Among the main concerns raised by the union were high levels of subcontracting, mandatory overtime and company policies that harm work-life balance.

This development represents the latest challenge on the labor front for the CPKC and its rail network that stretches from Canada to Mexico.

The railway, along with its rival Canadian National Railway Company, grappled with a nationwide work stoppage in August that paralyzed the CPKC for four days, following a two-year operational hiatus. weeks.

This work stoppage began when CP and CN locked out 9,300 workers after months of negotiations that failed to produce new contracts. Ottawa finally intervened, ordering the Federal Labor Commission to impose binding arbitration in an effort to avoid a total breakdown of the supply chain.

The union involved in this dispute was not Unifor. This was the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents CPKC engineers, conductors, dispatchers and yard workers.

On Tuesday, the railway company said it was committed to reaching a new collective agreement with Unifor and the workers it represents.

“CPKC is and will remain focused and committed to achieving a negotiated outcome that is in the best interest of its employees and their families,” Patrick Waldron, a spokesman for the railroad, said in an emailed statement.