The city and its unionized staff have returned to the bargaining table.
The two sides met Wednesday afternoon to negotiate after a counter offer was made by the Canadian Union of Public Employees locals 1048 and 399 on Dec. 13.
CUPE 399 president Gary Campbell did not want to discuss the details of the offer, but said the Wednesday discussions were positive.
"I think we've made some movement," he said, adding they were hoping to be back at the bargaining table by the end of the week.
Among the decisions made Wednesday was that there would be no more job action between now and Jan. 2, 2014, said Campbell.
"There's going to be people able to take their holidays and stuff now and we're going to try and bargain in good faith and try to move forward without any of the nasty stuff," he said.
The union staged a one-day strike Dec. 14, shutting down civic facilities such as arenas and pools.
Campbell said that while union members received a positive reaction from the public during Saturday's strike, the question he constantly fields is whether CUPE is expecting taxpayers to shoulder a tax hike to shoulder their proposed wage increase.
His response to that query is that it doesn't have to be the case.
"Mayor and council really needs to look at where they've been spending the money and, before they jump in and start all these new projects and fly off to China, they really have to look at what's happening at home and look after what's at home," he said. "The assets here need to be looked after before you start taking on new projects. And the municipality workers of Prince George are assets."
Though they considered it, following the job action the union did not follow through with a work-to-rule campaign and overtime ban.
It didn't make sense to do so with the level of essential services as mandated by an interim B.C. Labour Relations Board order, said Campbell.
The collective agreement signed between the city of Dawson Creek and their unionized staff only serves to back the local workers' stance, added Campbell.
"It just went to prove our point that what we are asking for is not outrageous, it's standard across the province with municipality workers," he said. "We're being very reasonable."
On Friday, Dawson Creek employees in CUPE local 2403 signed a new three-year contract that gives them a 2.5 per cent wage increase for each year through the end of 2015. They had been without a contract since the end of 2012, the same as CUPE 1048 and 399 members, representing about 500 inside and outside workers in Prince George.
"That's just perfect timing and a perfect example - a sister northern municipality that renewed a contract," said Campbell.
Unlike the local situation that saw the inclusion of a Vancouver-based labour lawyer, the CUPE 2403 local and Dawson Creek negotiated their contract on their own, without any disruption of service.
"We're in an environment that's a competitive environment with a strong economy," said Dawson Creek mayor Dale Bumstead. "It's important for us to recognize that for our employees, that we do value them and we do respect them, and we do want to create a healthy workplace where they're able to have a good job."
-- with files from Dawson Creek Daily News
