The Union of Northern Workers is holding a strike vote for NWT Power Corporation members later in August.
In a message to members, the union said holding a strike vote before bargaining resumes in September would “show support for the bargaining team and strengthen our position.”
Three months ago, the union called the power corporation “disconnected from reality” as collective bargaining broke down.
The last collective agreement for NTPC workers expired at the end of 2022, although its terms remain in force until a new deal is reached.
Bargaining began in November 2023. Three days of negotiations at the end of April and start of May represented the two sides’ third set of meetings to date.
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The union left those negotiations telling members “the parties are too far apart to reach an agreement” and predicting mediation in September.
In late June, the NWT government reached a tentative deal with the union that is set to give thousands of GNWT workers a salary increase of 10.5 percent over three years.
NTPC staff are covered by a separate collective agreement.
Strike votes can result in strike action but that isn’t always the case.
A strike vote ordinarily asks members whether or not to deliver a strike mandate to the union’s negotiators: in other words, whether or not to give the union the power to call a strike at a later date of its choosing.
A “yes” vote does not automatically mean a strike will take place, though it makes that outcome more likely.
