加拿大铁路工人开始罢工
加拿大两大铁路公司——加拿大太平洋堪萨斯城铁路（CPKC）和加拿大国家铁路（CN）的运营于周四凌晨 12:01 东部时间停止，此前劳资合同谈判失败，工作停顿开始。
CPKC 和 CN 对工会成员进行了封锁，而加拿大卡车司机工会铁路会议（TCRC）则在 CPKC 发起了罢工。工会尚未向 CN 发出罢工通知，但其工人已被禁止进入公司。
工作停顿冻结了正在进行中的火车运输，即使这些运输尚未到达目的地。
上周，铁路公司停止装载某些有毒和有毒物质的货运列车，以防止产品被遗弃在不安全地点，本周则停止了在加拿大境内所有商品和其他货物的装载。CN 和 CPKC 在美国境内的线路运营仍在继续，但火车无法进入加拿大。
工会于午夜刚过证实，CN 和 CPKC 的工作停摆已开始。大多数卡车司机工会成员在东部时间凌晨 12:01 停止工作，尽管 CPKC 的铁路交通控制员将继续工作至凌晨 2:01。
CPKC 和 CN 宣布已正式封锁由卡车司机工会代表的员工。CN 表示，工会未回应其为避免罢工所做的最后努力中提出的报价。
多种商品受影响
此次工作停摆将影响北美各地多种货物的货运交付，包括向农村社区输送丙烷、向加拿大出口码头运送谷物和煤炭，以及向制造设施提供化学原料。
CN 周三表示，谷物价格已受到影响，不列颠哥伦比亚省的锯木厂正在削减班次。
加拿大矿山的煤炭出口将受阻，因为这些业务仅由 CN 和 CPKC 提供服务。但美国西部的煤炭出口预计不会受到太大干扰，因为美国承运商 BNSF 拥有直接通往温哥华附近 Westshore 码头的铁路线。然而，BNSF 将无法在加拿大与 CN 和 CPKC 进行铁路车辆互换。
由于上游油砂设施即将进行维护以及备用管道容量充足，短期内罢工预计不会对原油市场造成重大干扰。
依赖铁路将产品从供应过剩的市场运往美国的加拿大丙烷和丁烷价格，在罢工前一天的周三出现下跌。
劳资双方分歧巨大
铁路公司与 Teamsters 在合同条款上仍存在很大分歧。该工会代表约 9,300 名 CN 和 CPKC 的列车操作员及辅助人员，以及 CPKC 的 85 名铁路交通管制员，表示强制调动、排班及疲劳管理导致的安全风险是争议的关键点。
中国新闻社表示，其多次被拒绝的提议本可以提升安全保障、增加工资并提供更优的员工排班。
CPKC 首席执行官基思·克里尔于 8 月 19 日宣称，工会领导层对铁路公司的提案进行了“极为不准确的描述”，旨在“制造关于谈判的虚假公众叙事”。他指出，铁路公司并未单方面更改或取消最近集体协议的条款，也没有提出任何危及安全的建议。
克里尔表示，最近 CPKC 主要致力于维持现状式的三年期合同续签。该提案不涉及工作规则的变更，铁路公司仅希望就外派薪酬的发放时间进行“合理调整”，以适应加拿大交通部去年实施的监管变化。
中国国铁本周呼吁加拿大劳工部长史蒂芬·麦肯农介入此事。他已与各铁路公司及卡车司机工会进行了会晤。CPKC 本周重申了早先要求强制仲裁的呼吁，但麦肯农在 8 月 15 日拒绝了这一请求。
相关新闻报道
工会计划新铁路罢工，无视仲裁令
Union plans new rail strike despite arbitration order
Washington, 23 August (Argus) — The status of rail freight in Canada remains uncertain after a Canadian labor union today issued a new strike notice to Canadian National (CN), less than a day after the federal government forced all parties to participate in binding arbitration. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) today issued notice to CN that members will go on strike at 10am ET on 26 August. The union had not issued a strike notice to CN earlier this week, but employees could not work yesterday after the CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked them out. "We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable," the union said today in its notice to CN. It said it would be available to discuss issues to avoid another work stoppage. CN indicated it was frustrated with the union's action. "While CN is focused on its recovery plan to get back to powering the economy, the Teamsters are focused on returning to the picket line and holding the country hostage to their demands," the railroad said. CN last night had begun implementing a recovery plan to restore service . The union has not yet responded to inquiries about its action today. The office of labour minister Steven MacKinnon declined to comment. Rail operations at CN and CP stopped at 12:01am ET on Thursday after the union launched a strike at CPKC and both railroads locked out employees. That action ended late Thursday afternoon with the federal government directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to manage binding arbitration on the railroads. CIRB, an independent agency, has not yet said if it will accept the government's order. CN began moving some freight early on 23 August, but the new strike order issued soon by the union today could disrupt those plans. The union has also challenged the constitutionality of MacKinnon's order regarding CPKC operations pending the outcome of a new ruling by the CIRB. CPKC's rail fleet remains parked in the meantime. CPKC said late Thursday it was disappointed in the minister's decision and sought to meet with CIRB to discuss resumption of service. CPKC said the union "refused to discuss any resumption of service, and instead indicated that they wish to make submissions to challenge the constitutionality of the Minister's direction." A case management meeting with CIRB occurred last night and another was scheduled for early today. By Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
降息时机已至：美联储主席鲍威尔
‘Time has come’ for rate cuts: Fed chair Powell
Houston, 23 August (Argus) — US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell today told a central bank symposium that the "time has come" for the Fed to begin lowering borrowing costs, just weeks before the next Fed policy meeting in mid-September. "The time has come for policy to adjust," he told an audience of central bankers and economists at the annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks." Powell's remarks today are the clearest signal that the Fed is ready to begin lowering borrowing costs, a move that would help spur economic activity as the economy has shown signs of slowing. The move would also come a little over two months before the presidential election in the US. After the 31 July Fed policy meeting that kept the rate unchanged, Powell said that if economic data continued to come in as expected, a rate cut "could be on the table" for the September meeting. After Powell's remarks today, the CME's FedWatch tool was signaling 65.5pc odds of a quarter point rate cut at the next Fed meeting and 34.5pc probability of a 50 basis point cut. That compares with 76pc for a quarter point cut and 24pc for a half point cut Thursday. "With an appropriate dialing back of policy restraint, there is good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2pc inflation while maintaining a strong labor market," he said today in the text of his speech. "The upside risks to inflation have diminished. And the downside risks to employment have increased." The Fed — which has a dual mandate of pursuing maximum employment and price stability — has been battling to bring down inflation for the last two years after it peaked at 9.1pc in June 2022. In the sharpest course of rate hikes in four decades, the Fed pushed up its target rate by more than five percentage points to a range of 5.25-5.5pc from early 2022 through July 2023. The Fed has maintained the target rate at that level since then, which has pushed the consumer price index to 2.9pc in the year through July, its lowest in three years. While inflation has slowed markedly, the economy has largely proven resilient. Still, the labor market has shown signs of weakening recently, especially as a much weaker-than-expected employment report for July caused a brief meltdown on financial markets several weeks ago. This prompted some economists to warn that the Fed had been too slow in adjusting its policy as recession fears had mounted. "We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability," Powell said. "The current level of our policy rate gives us ample room to respond to any risks we may face." Powell noted that the labor market "has cooled considerably from its formerly overheated state," pointing out that unemployment had risen by nearly one percentage point to 4.3pc in July from early 2023, "still low by historical standards… Even so, the cooling in labor market conditions is unmistakable." By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
法院支持马杜罗胜选，尽管有警告和暴力事件
Court endorses Maduro win amid warnings, violence
Caracas, 23 August (Argus) — Venezuela's supreme court validated the reelection of President Nicolas Maduro to a third six-year term, maintaining he is the victor of the polemic 28 July vote. The court did not present any electoral material, ballots or tallies to support the claim, and no experts offered testimony. "This chamber declares ... the validity of the electoral material surveyed and validates the results of the presidential election," court chief justice Caryslia Rodriguez said. She also declared presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez to be in contempt of court for not attending the proceedings. Rodriguez's announcement came two hours after a UN mission questioned the official results. "We warn about the lack of independence and impartiality of the supreme court of justice and the national electoral council of Venezuela, which have played a role within the repressive machinery of the state," the UN fact-finding mission on Venezuela posted on social media. Gonzalez has produced electoral material, including tallies printed by voting machines and signed by witnesses on election day, giving him the victory by almost 70pc to 30pc. The "actas," as the tallies are known in Venezuela, were validated by several independent parties, including the Carter Center, the UN and the Organization of American states. The CNE electoral agency has also failed to present any of the other sets of these documents. Audits were never conducted. The Maduro government confirmed this week that 27 Venezuelans were killed in post-electoral violence, for which it blamed the opposition. Human rights non-government organization Provea said the bulk of the violence came from police and the military. Six anti-Maduro demonstrators were killed on 29 July near an army base. By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
利比亚议会议长警告石油封锁风险
Libya's parliament speaker warns of oil blockade
Antalya, 23 August (Argus) — The speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament has warned of a possible oil blockade over an attempt to replace the central bank governor. "Replacing the governor in the current situation may result in shutting down oil and stopping the transfer of its revenues to the central bank," said Aguila Saleh, whose parliament is supported by eastern-based general Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA has imposed several politically motivated oil blockades in the past few years, which have wiped out huge chunks of Libya's nominal 1.2mn b/d of crude production. The LNA ordered the shutdown of the El Sharara field earlier this month, resulting in around 250,000 b/d being shut in . Libya's current output is around 1mn b/d. Libya's Tripoli-based Presidential Council issued an order on 18 August to replace central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir, who has resisted efforts to remove him. Libya's oil export revenues flow into the central bank, making it one of the country's most powerful institutions. The UN's Libya mission on 22 August called for the dispute to be resolved peacefully. The mission "expresses grave concerns about reports of mobilisation of forces in Tripoli, including the threats to use force to resolve the crisis surrounding the Central Bank of Libya," it said. Libya is politically fragmented, with armed groups propping up rival administrations in the east and west. The move against al-Kabir threatens to destabilise a fragile peace that has held since 2020, when eastern and western based military forces reached a ceasefire agreement. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
