Photo: NEU meets union members in CamBay

Doug Workman, the president of the Nunavut Employees Union, talks to about 30 union members in Cambridge Bay March 14 about the union’s current negotiations with the Government of Nunavut and what to expect next. This past fall, 85 per cent of NEU members who cast ballots voted in favour of strike action, if necessary. Mediation talks, which began Feb. 17 in Iqaluit, failed to break the impasse. This means that as soon as the two sides reach an agreement on the provision of emergency services during a labour disruption, the union may take legal strike action. Workman wouldn’t comment on the timing of a possible strike date, because such an essential services agreement is not yet in place. The Government of Nunavut, in a statement March 15, said that under the Public Service Act, the GN may not lock out its unionized workers. (PHOTO BY RED SUN PRODUCTIONS)