“Some services for July 11 may be affected. VIA Rail is currently assessing the impact on services and will post the information on its website shortly,” the Canadian Crown Corporation said in a travel advisory.
“VIA Rail remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement and will keep passengers informed of any potential service disruption.”
The union representing more than two thousand VIA Rail workers initially issued a strike notice for July 11 at 12:01 a.m. if a new agreement is not reached with the employer.
Late Sunday night, Unifor extended that deadline until 4 p.m. of Monday.
“We remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached,” National Secretary-Treasurer Lana Payne said in a statement.
“Our negotiating committees have been steadfast in their desire to reach an agreement that respects and values their work.”
Unifor represents approximately 2,400 maintenance workers, on-board service staff, chefs, sales representatives and customer service staff at VIA Rail.
VIA Rail, meanwhile, said they also want to prevent a strike.
“It is important to note that talks are continuing with the support of mediators and VIA Rail is working hard to reach an agreement before the deadline,” the company said.
The main sticking point in the negotiations was job security.
-with files from Josh Freeman
