Jorge Barerra
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 28/02) - With the NorthwesTel strike now nearing its sixth week, the union and the employer are heading back to the bargaining table.

Talks broke down June 12 after the union rejected a company offer and the employer in turn rebuffed a union counter offer. The union made a new counter offer June 26, which brought the company back to the table.

"Finally after all this time they want to sit down face-to-face to get things done," said Cary Gryba, spokesperson for Local 1574 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Bill Lewis, a federal conciliator based in Vancouver, will also take part in the talks. The timetable for the talks was developing as of press time.

Anne Kennedy Grainger, a NorthwesTel spokesperson, would only say "several developments" are unfolding.

The rhetoric in the current strike, the first in the company's history, is hot.

The union accuses the company of trying to "starve and break" the union. The company says its offer is fair and competitive

The IBEW says the company launched a propaganda campaign by placing ads in Northern newspapers warning a lengthening strike could mean rate increases.

The IBEW represents almost 400 operators, technicians and clerical workers.

Gryba said the union is ready to stay on the streets if the company does not give them a fair deal.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Teamsters along with other national labour groups have provided moral and financial support to the union which could not afford to give its workers strike pay, said Gryba.

Northern living allowance is one of the sticking points in the talks, said Gryba.