Unions agree to postpone Saturday strike at Canadian Pacific

By Allison Lampert and Julie Gordon MONTREAL/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd and unions Teamsters Canada and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), reached an agreement with to postpone a strike that was scheduled for Saturday. The unions said Friday the decision was made after Canadian Labor Minister Patty Hajdu agreed with Canadian Pacific's request to order a vote on a final offer regarding the company's renewal of their agreements with the unions. "CP succeeded in delaying the inevitable," the unions said in a statement. Both unions, which represent more than a quarter of Canadian Pacific's workforce, asked its members to reject the company offers. "Once our members reject their final offer, CP will have exhausted all possible escape routes and they will face their workers once again," the unions said. Teamsters and IBEW are seeking a variety of changes including predictable schedules to combat fatigue. Canadian Pacific said there will be no disruption to the commuter rail companies operating on CP's network and it will be able to continue to provide freight service. "I want to thank the leadership of the (Teamsters), IBEW, and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for their hard work, collaboration and openness to getting this situation resolved without a work stoppage," said CEO Keith Creel. (Reporting By Allison Lampert and Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Susan Thomas, Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)