Around 3,400 workers could walk off the job as early as 12:01 a.m. on Saturday if a deal is not reached.

The union representing around 3,000 conductors and locomotive engineers fired back at Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. after the company’s chief executive vowed on Wednesday it “cannot be put in a position where we’re held hostage.”

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) released a statement Thursday afternoon, less than 48-hours away from strike deadline, saying it was “confused at the sight of CP publicly playing the ‘victim card’ in current contract negotiations.”  

“If CP is a victim, then they’re a victim of their own aggressive behaviour and they must finally be feeling the consequences of their actions,” TCRC president Doug Finnson said in the statement. 

This has been excerpted from the 20 April 2018 edition of the Financial Post.