Locked-out workers at the Journal de Québec will mark a dubious milestone Sunday when their labour dispute will become the longest workplace conflict ever at a Canadian French-language newspaper.

The paper's 252 workers have been off the job since April 22, 2007, when they were locked out by management.

On Sunday, their 10-month-old conflict will surpass the longest lockout on record, at Quebec City's Le Soleil newspaper in 1977.

Talks between the Journal de Québec and the paper's owner, Sun Media Corp., ended months ago and there is no sign they'll be revived any time soon.

The union has asked for binding arbitration, which Sun Media's parent company, Quebecor, has so far refused.

The lockout is unnecessary and there is no reason not to resume discussions, said union spokesman Denis Bolduc.

"It's an unjustifiable position," he told CBC's French language service this week.

"Especially because early this week, Quebecor Media published a press release that reported the company's financial situation is very good, both in its newspaper and cable distribution sectors."

'We really don't understand'

"In that kind of context, we just can't understand why this is happening. We really don't understand."

Quebecor wants to extend employees' work week from 32 hours over four days to 37.5 hours over five days, without any additional renumeration.

The company also wants to renegotiate outsourcing and job security issues.

The paper's employees are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The locked-out workers have been printing and distributing about 40,000 copies of their own newspaper, called MédiaMatin Québec, across the provincial capital.

Their strike fund is still plentiful and workers hope to increase their lockout paper's circulation in upcoming weeks, Bolduc said.

With files from the Canadian Press