Nine weeks into a civic strike, the City of Vancouver is asking B.C. Labour Minister Olga Ilich to appoint two mediators to help end the dispute.

City engineering trucks were left idle at the Manitoba Works Yard in Vancouver on July 20, after outside workers went on strike.
(CBC)

The city and the three Canadian Union of Public Employees locals have been negotiating under a media blackout all week.

The city ended that blackout Friday, saying the two sides had reached serious impasses on a number of issues and it is now asking the province to appoint mediators.

The city is also asking the B.C. Labour Relations Board to appoint a facilitator to help end the strike by 800 library workers.

According to a memo issued by city manager Judy Rogers, the mediation will be non-binding and should begin next week.

The request is the latest development in a strike by 6,100 civic workers that has left garbage piling up and closed city facilities, including arenas, libraries and playing fields.

Efforts to end the strike have been stalled by a stalemate over issues including contracting out, layoffs and job security.

Striking civic workers represented by three union locals have been urging the city to appoint a mediator for weeks. But the city has previously indicated that the two sides are too far apart, insisting that the appointment of a mediator would be a waste of time.

Now Rogers says in the memo that the city has told CUPE 15 it is ready to go back to the bargaining table this weekend — and that she hopes the two sides can come to an agreement even before mediators are brought in.

The negotiating team representing Vancouver's outside workers was scheduled to head back to the bargaining table Friday for a second day of talks but they were called off.

Negotiations took place under media blackout

As a media blackout had been in effect, there had been no official word on whether any progress was made in negotiations between representatives of CUPE Local 1004, which represents 1,800 outside workers, and city officials.

The city met with CUPE Local 15, which represents 3,500 full-time and seasonal inside workers, from Monday to Wednesday. A media blackout was also in effect for those negotiations.

The library staff are represented by CUPE Local 391.

The two mediators requested by Rogers would deal with Local 15 and Local 1004 contract issues.

Coun. David Cadman said he regrets the way the strike has dragged on.

"I find it very frustrating," Cadman said Thursday.

Vancouver's inside workers set up picket lines at city hall on July 23.
(CBC)

"I want the two parties to bargain and I want [them] to come to a resolution because the residents of this city have been denied service now for too long, and it's time to settle this dispute."

Cadman said he wants a full account of how much money the city has saved during the strike, and property-tax bills reduced accordingly.

The civic strike is the second longest in Vancouver's history. A strike in 1981 lasted for 90 days.

Vancouver's outside workers walked off the job on July 20, halting residential garbage pickup. The inside workers joined the strike on July 23.

The city's library staff went on strike the same week, closing 22 library branches.