The city and its unionized staff are back at the table today, but the talks aren't about a new contract.
The two sides will be engaged in discussions today, Saturday and Sunday about essential services, mediated by the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
In case adjudication is required, a hearing to determine essential services will be held Dec. 9-10.
The city and Canadian Union of Public Employees locals 1048 and 399 have been attempting to negotiate a new collective agreement since January.
Last week, CUPE rejected a final offer from the city, with 82 per cent of the 365 members who cast ballots voting in opposition. The offer was for a four-year contract with a two per cent wage increase in the third and fourth years. It had been previously reported that the offer was a three-year deal and the question put to residents in a phone survey also referred to a three-year contract.
"The city faces significant financial demands to meet increasing taxpayer expectations for services, as well as, for upgrading, or at least maintaining, current facilities," said operations superintendent Bill Gaal. "To do that, and to minimize tax increases, no new money was offered in the first two years of the contract."
According to a press release from the city, other issues regarding job security and hours of work were resolved earlier.
Gaal said there was disappointment that the contract wasn't approved. "We think the offer is a fair one given the financial challenges facing the city," he said.
CUPE 1048 president Janet Bigelow called the result "amazing."
"The membership spoke," she said. "They spoke about how they feel about being devalued and disrespected and this is how they answered back."
While the percentage of rejection was lower than the 95 per cent the last time the union voted on the city's final offer in September, it still sends a clear message, said Bigelow.
"It is [lower] but there's been a lot that has gone on since then, too. And of course, the longer it goes on, people tend to get restless," she said. "I think hearing it a second time around is even more important because there's more of a reality to it."
That reality could end up in job action. A Sept. 5 vote resulted in 93 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. That mandate was to expire Dec. 6, but CUPE has received an extension from the city and Labour Relations Board until Dec. 16.
The extension came as a result of the time it took to hold a Labour Relations Board-supervised last offer vote, according to Bigelow.
"We could if we wanted to put in a strike notice but we felt that we would let them go to the membership [to let them vote] without doing that," she said.
According to the city press release, the union won't be in a legal strike position until essential services are agreed upon. They then have to give 72 hours notice before starting any job action.
Bigelow said CUPE is looking forward to going back to the bargaining table.
