OREANDA-NEWS. CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that it has reached a new tentative collective agreement with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference - Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons (TCRC-CTY).

The parties' negotiation of a new tentative agreement averts a threatened strike by the union at 0001 hours Eastern Standard Time Feb. 8, 2014. The TCRC-CTY represents approximately 3,000 CN train conductors, trainpersons, yardpersons and traffic coordinators on CN's network in Canada.

Details of the three-year labour contract are being withheld pending ratification.

Jim Vena, CN executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said: “We commend the leadership of the TCRC-CTY for reaching consensus with the company and averting a possible strike. This will ensure continued service to our customers in a very challenging environment where extreme winter conditions have hampered CN operations and affected service levels.

“CN has offered to work closely with the union leadership to explain the terms of the agreement to union members over the next 45 days to help ensure a successful ratification of the agreement.”