The City of Yellowknife and the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) are going back to mediation next week.
An original statement from Gayla Thunstrom, UNW president and Lorraine Rousseau, PSAC North regional executive vice-president, both stated they received word from the city that they would resume mediation and table a new offer. It was scheduled to happen on Sunday, but an updated statement from the UNW stated that the mediator’s scheduled flight into Yellowknife has been delayed.
That has forced proceedings to be delayed to Monday. The time was not published in the updated press release.
“The (UNW bargaining) team is hopeful that when they sit down with the city, the employer will show they are there to bargain in good faith by being willing to actually discuss wages, which they have refused to do up until now,” they stated originally on Friday morning.
The original statement also included that the vote to go on strike on Jan. 17 sent a clear message to the city’s bargaining team that their members feel the city’s wage offer was inadequate.
They also stated their intention to continue to picket until the bargaining team reaches a deal with the city and the lockout ends.