Canadian Pacific Employee Reviews
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Excellent pay with no family life, alot of pressure with the movement of trains that can be dealt with if more time at home were given to unwind. Road Managers had less of a mentorship approach and more hard line 3 strikes your out. Yard managers I found more encouraging though some had no business being in that position.
The company has a robust training system and offers some very competitive workplace benefits. However, if you work in the running trades those benefits do not always compensate you for the number of hours you will work or the irregularity of those hours. If you work on the management side then pay scale and benefits do not always reflect the work stress, hours, on-call requirements, and impact to work-life balance. It is not uncommon to find yourself working 12-16 hour days, for periods beyond seven days consecutively.
Pros
Training
Cons
Long hours, inconsistent scheduling, low management accountability
When you work for the railway you're expected to live for the railway more often than not. your first 5 years no matter which industry, department or level of management is very challenging. Expect many weeks at a time on working the off shifts, weekends and more. monday to friday days are a luxury reserved for those who've put in their time, managed to avoid trouble with the overly complicated disciplinary system or those who've made it to a necessary position that cannot be removed via job cuts, lay offs or downturns in traffic.If you can handle this type of environment than life in the Railway is rewarding and they will compensate you well for your time. Stock options, quality benefits and a strong union environment exist. However it can be very demanding on your mental health and home life.
Pros
Good wage, benefits
Cons
off shifts, days off, seniority preference
Terrible management and it’s a very non inclusive place to work. No work and life balance with this job and they treat you like a slave. The management thinks they own you even though most of them don’t have any railroad experience at all. They are just hired because of major nepotism.
Pros
None
Cons
Everything
in exchange for 30 years of your life, you get the privilege of retirement with a garbage pension capped at 1600 per month ( in a mechanics position) as a new hire you will not see daylight, a weekend or a holiday for many years after your first six months Pros: almost limitless overtime, which can be banked, nicest thing they did, decent benefits And not working crazy hard
Cp Rail is an awful company to work for overall. Poor management and leadership, high stress environment. Inadequate tools and equipment to perform your daily tasks despite record profits. Poor health and safety goals/environment.Not only are you treated with the most disrespect humans can offer, you’re constantly having your job waved in your face with threats of being fired on a daily basis. Toxic environment! Save your health, skip by the railway. Your family will thank you.
Pros
Good Pay, Benefits and Pension
Cons
Poor leadership/management, daily harassment and discrimination. Terrible shifts with bad days off. No family life
You need to be flexible for work hours at all times for the first few years at least. The work schedule can change up to 24hrs before shift. working day/evening/nights with short changes (8hrs between shifts) or long changes. Entitled to 48hrs off per two weeks which is not always at same time. They preach safety but encourage speed so as to make timings/profit. need to be at your 110% at all times since it is a safety critical position but barely give you adequate rest. can tell you you are staying for overtime at end of shift a few times a week with you not able to say no. trouble/responsibility always rolls down to the RTC from above and from crews in the field.
Pros
good salary
Cons
no work/life balance. extreme stress. No support.
As a locomotive engineer at CP, I learned to be more discipline, take on more responsibility and the value of working harmonious with team members. I also learnt the value of attention to detail and appreciating the independence given.
Hard and physical work especialy in bad weather conditions.Work different shifts on a regular basis. A lot of different personalities to work with. Difficult to complete everything in a shift, so overtime is required
-Experienced management
-Lots of potential for advancement
-Great co-workers
-Paid training
-Safety focused.
-You get to work with and see trains all day!!! Love it!!
My husband had applied for the Conductor position at CP. He was contacted by CP hiring-manager-type person and went through a phone interview. Later followed by a an in-person interview. Passed a drug test. Waited on training, which was postponed from August, to September. Then September to October. Then again until November and finally, again, until January. Luckily during this time, he had a reliable job that allowed him to continually prolong his stay.
Finally, the training began. Training, which according to CP will take 4 months, only pays $1400/2 weeks. One of the paychecks removes an almost $100 union due - which makes it a $1300 paycheck. This is an alright wage for classroom time, however, after the initial couple of weeks of classroom time, they send you to in-the-field training. During this training, you follow various positions and go to various locations, at bizarre hours. with random days off. Your schedule gets sent to you on Sunday night for the Monday-Sunday. You are constantly asked to stay overtime with no extra pay. This is somehow legal through the union contract. You will be making $2700/month and working 200 hours, rather than 160. Sometimes only having 1 random day off between shifts, where you will be sleeping to recover from night shift, only to start day shift the following day.
Of course, this year, the Covid19 pLandemic happened. CP extended the in-the-field training. It is now end of JULY (7 months since training has started) and my husband is still not a qualified conductor. We anticipated 4 months (as promised) of sh*tty - more...
Pros
medical & dental benefits
Cons
long hours, exteme shift work, low wages for training, no work/life balance
Aggressive management style verging on toxic, abusive and contolling. No latitude for compromise in a union /management conflict zone. Company has sacrificed 1/3 of their labour force for shareholder gain and upper management bonuses with recent hostile takeover of the board. This created an insecure dictatorial management. ddidictatorshipdictatorirul.culturemanagement environment
Pros
Great salary
Cons
Insecure work environment
Pay grade is high, but after tax, there is only half left, which DOES NOT compensate for the derogatory, unsupportive “ team “ atmosphere, lack of home time, DANGER IN THE FIELD, and non compliant atmosphere. Take your chances, likely lose the emotional at home relationships you have with you wife and spouse and then pay the money you made on much needed clothing, food, etc..
Pros
Money SOUNDS good
Cons
you will not win here.
If you find yourself in a great team, you're bound to enjoy CP but if you are in a team that doesn't value individual contribution, you wouldn't. Theres opportunity for advancement, you can become anything you wish to be if you find the right team
Pros
great colleagues
Cons
biased management
I started as labourer,after two my training started.I learned using cutting torch,welding,repair freight cars,air brake system, then I learned How to paint the freight cars. People are very friendly. When ever the power failed.Every day was enjoyable.
CP is a well-paying company at the expense of your time, most jobs are shift work union + non-union, trains run 24/7/365. Be very careful if you have a family, you might be getting into a job that forces you to travel 5-10% out of province and or shift work.
The Executive Corporate Greed is established from the top down by every managers bonus goals include reducing staff aka finding efficiency. Your genius will not be recognized unless it leads to less jobs. Do more with less is the yearly moving target that nefariously infiltrates everyones soul and over the years it will grind yours down as well.
At a typical day at work, you must come prepared for any challenge, because you never know how your shift will go, ability to think outside the box, good planning and communication and 100% attention to safety will help you be more productive and go back home to your family every day
Pros
n/a
Cons
u might be on your feet through out your shift
At the time I was employed with CP conductor pool was much to large resulting in working midnight yard jobs for the entire 3 years under a toxic work environment.
Pros
Could only get better
Cons
No work/life balance
Rules, rules and more rules. One slip up and you get written up in a heartbeat. Managers teach new supervisors to look out for rule breakers, because the managers get annual bonuses for people who get written up. It makes them look good in the eyes of CP Rail upper management.
I was a long service employee here. Management can be hit or miss as it is anywhere large. Very old school management is back in. If you are used to it it is easier to handle. You need to focus on the positive parts and keep the negative aspects in the background.
Pros
Lots of great people and long service staff.
Cons
Can be stressful and overwhelming.
Very well paying job with good benefits and capped pension. Layoffs at all times of the year for first few years. Management are very negative and always trying to punish for anything. Stressful and unfulfilling place to work. Great coworkers and the type of work is interesting and stimulating.
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