A labor dispute between Kamloops-area mill workers and forest companies is no closer to ending after contract talks last week.

The United Steelworkers Union met with the Interior Forest Labor Relations Association in Kelowna last week for three days of bargaining.

“What was truly frustrating was… the IFLRA refused to respond. They refused to respond to our proposal which had significant moves in it, as they didn’t like it,” Local 1-417 United Steelworkers president Marty Gibbons says. “Bargaining is about collaboration between the parties to try to work together towards a common end which is fair, collective agreement both parties can agree with.”

“It’s incredibly difficult bargaining in that type of environment. When you make moves and the other party basically says ‘nope, try again,’ it’s certainly not a good path to a collective agreement.”

The union and the IFLRA have been without a contract since July 1 of last year, and the 3,000-or-so employees part of the union in the Southern Interior voted to take strike action in November.

Now, talks are back at at a standstill.

“Although they did come forward with a slightly-improved proposal, they still remain short of the mark that’s going to get them a collective agreement,” Gibbons says.

He says though that contract talks for unionized mills in northern B.C. are resuming next month with CONIFER, and he says if any deal were to happen up north it’s likely to flow south.