Mediation with city of Yellowknife to resume Monday, union says

The union representing striking city workers in Yellowknife said in a news release Friday that mediation will resume Sunday. They've since pushed the mediation date to Monday, citing delays in the mediator's flight.

"The city has informed the [Union of Northern Workers, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada North] bargaining team that they will table a new proposal in response to the offer our team presented to them on Monday," reads the release from UNW president Gayla Thunstrom and PSAC North regional executive vice-president Lorraine Rousseau.

The news release goes on to say that the union "is hopeful" that the city 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."

On Thursday, an internal memo outlined the union's latest demands, including a 5 per cent wage increase effective Jan. 1, 2022, and a 3 per cent wage increase effective Jan. 1 of this year, among other things. 

Also on Thursday, the city stated that it would return to the negotiating table at any time, and that it had a counter-offer to share.

The city said it was "committed to reaching a fair, respectful and affordable agreement."

City manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett had previously said the city had budgeted for a two per cent increase across the board. 

City workers went on strike right after midnight Tuesday after negotiations with a federally appointed mediator between the two parties failed to produce an agreement. 

Since then, city recreation facilities, the library and the municipal dump have all been closed, and recycling and compost initiatives suspended.