The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) and BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU) continue to be at an impasse in reaching a deal that would get more than 100 CRD staff back to work.
The CRD issued a news release Friday, June 21, noting that the latest talks broke down.
A verbal agreement the parties came to on wages would have seen the BCGEU employee wages increased by 12.5 per cent over three years, noted the CRD. The employer's final offer in May would have given union employees an 11 per cent increase over three years.
“Despite significant improvements to our offer for wage increases, the Union has moved its offers in the opposite direction, demanding more than it had asked for at the start of the strike," said CRD Chief Administrative Officer Murray Daly.
The BCGEU issued its own news release, stating the CRD backed away from the deal due to language around protecting striking workers from discipline.
"We pushed for bargaining to resume, and we came to a verbal agreement with the CRD (Friday) after hours of negotiations, but then at the last minute the CRD reneged on that agreement," said BCGEU President Paul Finch in the release.
"We negotiated language into the agreement that would provide picketing workers with protection against discipline for their involvement in bargaining. This is very reasonable and standard post-strike contract language."
Negotiations were previously at a standstill, with Daly telling Black Press Media the CRD's biggest concern was BCGEU's request to link wages to the Consumer Price Index.
The 72-hour strike notice was given on May 7th. The closure of libraries in Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House is one of the most visible affects of the strike. It is also affecting invasive plant removal, utility bill payments and more across the district. Essential and contract services across the district are not affected by the strike.