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High hopes for an imminent end to the lockout of city workers were dashed after the city of Nelson, B.C., announced Aug. 10 that mayor and council were unwilling to consider further negotiations with CUPE Local 339.

CUPE Local 339 put forward two settlement offers almost a week before the announcement. One is the six-step made in Nelson solution proposed by Sjeng Derkx from Co-op radio and Nelson Daily News columnist Stephen Fowler. The other is a return to the minimum staffing clause set at 60. The second offer represents contract language that protects 60 core public services from contracting out.

If mayor and council were serious about ending the lockout and restoring city services they would have called an emergency meeting last week, not waited until Monday to reject our offers, said CUPE Local 339 president Bev Lapointe. What do they think this is, play city?

Our offers still stand. When the city is prepared to accept the made in Nelson solution or a minimum staffing number that protects public services and a contract that respects the months we have been locked out, were ready to sign on the dotted line, said Lapointe.