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On Friday at midnight, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) plans to launch a strike at Canadian National Railway Co. Yesterday, union officials gave CN a required 72-hour strike notice.

"We are disappointed but we had no choice,” said IBEW Chairman Kevin Kearns in a prepared statement. “There are a number of problems, including standby provisions, quality of life issues, wages and benefits.”

CN officials have been negotiating a contract with IBEW representatives for some time. The Canada Industrial Relations Board recently determined CN could issue a lock out and IBEW and several other unions the Class I is negotiating with could launch a strike if the acting party provided 72 hours notice.

IBEW represents 730 CN workers who install, maintain and repair signals and communications systems.