OREANDA-NEWS. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP)(NYSE:CP) today announced that it has ratified a transformational multi-year collective agreement with its 450 U.S. engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET).

The new hourly-rate agreement brings an end to a mileage-based wage system from the steam engine era and provides CP with increased flexibility and transparency, the employee with a cycle with two consecutive days off and the best wages in the industry.

"This negotiated agreement is a major step forward for both parties and represents the biggest win-win that a railway, its employees and operating unions could have," said Keith Creel, CP's President and Chief Operating Officer. "The benefits it will provide to all parties, including - at the center of it all - our customers, are immediate and will build month by month and year by year."

The agreement - which also gives BLET members the ability to participate in the employee share purchase plan - spans three years with an option for either side to revert to the former agreement if written notice is given prior to the beginning of the third year. If neither party reverts, the agreement is extended for two more years.