With the UNW/PSAC strike continuing into its fifth week, union reps say morale on the picket lines remain high, despite no publicly known updates of progress between the two sides.
Picket lines have continued to grow after the NWT Supreme Court removed the limit on the number of picketers allowed on the line.
“The warm weather definitely helps out a lot, morale is higher for sure.” Picket Captain Bonnie Ritchey told MyTrueNorthNow.com.
Despite the morale boost, Ritchey adds that tensions may be rising on the lines and picketers are now under a stricter rotation schedule to avoid any “unwanted drama.”
Ritchey added that the “drama” she is referring to is nothing out of the ordinary, and is typical for a strike this size.
However, a source, under the condition of anonymity, tells the MyTrueNorthNow.com newsroom that some of the drama might be coming from discrepancies between the bargaining team and picketers.
“You should ask the bargaining team why it’s taken a week for us to hear any update,” they add.
When the strike began, negotiations were a weekly occurrence as the city and bargaining team attempted to find common ground regarding the unions proposal for a wage increase. However, after the city attempted to bring a third-party arbitration to the table, updates regarding the negotiation came to a halt.
