The two sides in a labour dispute at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum are heading back to the bargaining table Friday for the first time since early October.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corp. requested a return to bargaining Wednesday after the union representing the striking workers announced a willingness to seek binding arbitration to end the dispute.

The union that represents 420 museum guides, interpreters and archivists at the Ottawa-area museums run by the Crown corporation, said it will ask a mediator whether management is willing to talk about job contracting, job security for contract workers and wages — the main disputed issues.

"If the employer is ready to move … then we'll be able to negotiate something," said Daniel Poulin, president of the union local.

Earlier in the day, Chantal Schryer, vice-president of public affairs for the museum corporation, told CBC News that management is "willing to give a little."

The workers, who are represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, walked off the job Sept. 21. The museums have been open during the strike but have reported decreased attendance, since some visitors, including school groups, have been reluctant to cross the picket lines.

Minister prepared to appoint abitrator

On Tuesday, Federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose said she was ready to help end the strike.

"This is a very difficult situation for both parties," Ambrose said during question period in the House of Commons. "We encourage them to come back to the table as soon as possible to find a resolution, and as I indicated, I'm prepared to appoint an arbitrator."

Ambrose's remarks came in response to a question from Liberal heritage critic Pablo Rodriguez.

"Employees of two national museums have been on strike for eight weeks. Eight weeks!," Rodriguez said. "The government has been completely invisible on this file and the minister of labour must explain why."

On Wednesday, the union announced that the striking employees had given the leadership "a mandate to seek a fair settlement … through arbitration."

However, Schryer said, management wasn't ready to hand the dispute over to a third party.

"We're really pleased to see that they're willing to move on something at this point because it's been 60 days," she said. "Having said that, our preference is to arrive to an agreement through negotiations and we think it's possible."

This is not the first time Ambrose has said she was prepared to wade into a labour dispute. In January, during the 53-day strike by Ottawa transit workers, Ambrose threatened to introduce back-to-work legislation to end the dispute.

The next day, the City of Ottawa and the Amalgamated Transit Union agreed to resolve all outstanding issues through binding arbitration, ultimately ending the strike.