On Friday, the Canadian National Railway Co. revealed that an arbitrator has managed to decide on wage hikes under a new three-year collective arrangement between the nation's largest railroad and its 1,700 unionized locomotive engineers across Canada.

Under the ruling pronounced by a Government-appointed arbitrator, wage increases of 1.8% in 2009, 2.4% in the ongoing year and 2.6% for the upcoming year have been decided. In addition, dental plan benefit improvements are all set to come into effect starting April 1, 2010, as has been confirmed by CN.

The ruling was officially sent out on Thursday.

"With a secure labor agreement in place, we will now work to re-establish a positive dialogue with the TCRC (union)", said CN Chief Executive Officer Claude Mongeau.

No comments on the development have yet been shared by Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union President Dan Shewchuk.

The new decision has not managed to change or affect the workers' mileage cap, which is the part of a complex wagers system. In it, pay is directly tied to the distance a train manages to travel.