Parks Canada is hoping to resume talks with the union that represents workers on the Rideau Canal as soon as next week.

Michel Boivin, spokesperson for Parks Canada, said though talks broke off last month between Parks Canada and Public Service Alliance of Canada employees, management is looking forward to sitting down at the table with the union again.

“We are ready to resume negotiations the first week of July,” he said. “We’re hoping to reach a fair and just agreement.”

PSAC represents about 4,800 parks workers across Canada – including about 150 workers who operate the lock stations and sites along the canal. They have been without a collective agreement since August 2007, finishing the 175th anniversary season without a formal working agreement.

In February of this year, the union tabled its demands and negotiations ensued. On February 21, Boivin said PSAC walked away from discussions.

Both sides were able to get back to the table May 5 and negotiations continued for seven days. But talks stalled again May 11. A month later, both parties agreed to get together with a mediator, which will likely occur next week.

At the crux of the issue sits wage increases, a national rate of pay for members and a halt to contracting out jobs which canal workers traditionally do themselves.

The last offer made by the employer to the union included wage increases of 2.1 per cent in the first year, two per cent in the second year and 1.5 per cent in the third and fourth years.

Boivin said that while the union is criticizing Parks Canada’s latest offer, the union has yet to publicly reveal all of its demands, which he alleged include seeking a more than 40 per cent wage increase over three years.

Chris Kenney, a southern union steward who works at the Jones Falls locks, said the union is taking on an outreach program instead of taking radical action and walking off the job. The program is designed to get public and business support for the workers.

Kenney approached the Township of Rideau Lakes council Monday afternoon to explain the situation.

“The people who I work with have been working without a contract for more than 300 days,” he said. “Many of the workers along the Rideau Canal live within the township … my hope is that council will stand behind its community and support local business, tourism and the workers for Parks Canada who live within their ridings.

“Our goal is to inform the public that all of our livelihoods are in jeopardy due to the fact that we are working without a contract,” Kenney said.

Rideau Lakes Mayor Ron Holman said that while council appreciates the comments and being kept in the loop, council also knows the hard work of both the canal workers and Parks Canada. Council already passed a motion of support to resolve the issue as soon as possible at a prior council meeting.