With the next round of collective bargaining set to begin between the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) and the NWT Power Corporation next week, one thing is clear: the UNW is ready to walk if they need to.

The UNW held strike votes last month in several communities around the territory and the union is saying the results yielded a "nearly unanimous majority" in favour of strike action, should it come down to that. The last round of negotiations this past May in Yellowknife failed to yield any sort of deal. The UNW stated that the power corp. "tabled numerous restrictive and unrealistic concessions/rollbacks, including an insulting wage proposal" in its own update following those talks.

That tone didn't change in its last update following the strike vote results.

"It is time for the NTPC to bring a new mandate to negotiations SA国际影视传媒� a mandate that respects their hardSA国际影视传媒恮orking employees, instead of the divisive concessions/rollbacks they have been pushing forward, as well as subpar wage increases," read a notice on the UNW website from Aug. 28.

Both sides have been working under the terms of the previous collective agreement that expired in December 2022, one that was achieved in April 2019 through 11th-hour mediation by mediator Mort Mitchnick. The UNW had indicated that it would hit the picket lines if no deal was in place by April 8 that year.

Following the last set of talks, union negotiators indicated that both sides are still too far apart and mediation could once again be a possibility.

Since the deal expired, both sides have met for a total of three rounds of bargaining since November 2023. There is no indication of what the UNW is seeking in terms of salary, benefits or other details and the power corp. wasn't saying anything, either.

In a previous story, Doug Prendergast, the power corp's manager of communications, told SA国际影视传媒 that there would be no specific information shared "about what may or may not occur as negotiations resume."

He also wouldn't speculate about the outcomes of the strike votes.

Both sides will begin the next round of talks on Sept. 10.