After a delay finding a mediator, the Union of Northern Workers says an opening three-day mediation session with the NWT government has been booked for January.
Last month, the union said talks with the GNWT over a new collective agreement for thousands of workers would not restart until early 2027 because no mediator was available any sooner.
In an update this week, the UNW said mediation is now set for January 4-6 and potentially January 11-12. The union did not give the mediator’s identity.
The GNWT declared an impasse in August, a formal step that triggers mediation on the grounds that progress isn’t being made between the parties directly.
The previous collective agreement lapsed at the end of March. Its terms remain in place until a new agreement is signed.
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Meanwhile, the UNW separately said meetings have begun to migrate Hay River health authority staff into the GNWT, a move announced earlier this year and expected to be complete by April 2027.
“The enabling legislation will not be tabled until this fall, so there is still a window of opportunity to influence how the HRHSSA will be structured going forward,” the union stated, using an initialism for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority.
“To make the most of this opportunity, we need to as a group, and as individuals become more active in defending our rights at the workplace, but also to take the time to talk to our MLAs about the change we’d like to see.”
