Strike deadline for Via Rail workers extended as Unifor continues negotiations

Via Rail has narrowly avoided the prospect of immediately suspending services across Canada after a strike deadline was extended to Monday afternoon.

Unifor issued a 72-hour strike notice to the national rail carrier on Friday, indicating 2,400 employees were prepared to walk off the job if a new contract could not be negotiated by 12:01 a.m. on Monday. 

A strike would see maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff all hit the picket line and force Via to pause services across the country. 

However, Unifor has issued a statement on its website and social media, saying the strike deadline has been extended to 4 p.m. eastern time on Monday.