Article content continued

Western Forest Products has publicly called for government intervention in the strike. The province has the power to call an industry inquiry commission, legislate a cooling-off period, ask mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers to craft a new contract, or legislate an end to the strike.

The Steelworkers, which are the largest donor to the B.C. NDP and funded its 2017 election campaign, have demanded the province stay out of the dispute. So far, it has.

“I know that it is not lost on anyone at Western that as we enter the new year, we also enter the seventh month of this strike, and the profound impact that has had on our people, their families and communities continues to be of concern,” the Western Forests vice-president of human resources, Jennifer Foster, wrote in an internal message to company employees Wednesday.

“You may have read in the media the mediators were to call the parties back to the table. While I remained in contact with the mediators since the last strike update and throughout the holidays, at this time no new talks have been scheduled.

“We will continue to do our best to find the right balance between respecting the process and keeping employees informed.”

Steelworkers B.C. director Steve Hunt, who is not on the bargaining committee with his union’s local, said there remains “an earnest attempt to bring the dispute to resolve.”

“This is straight-old-hard bargaining, this is what it is,” Hunt said Wednesday. “When it’s straight-old-hard bargaining, there’s always the ability to talk and you don’t have to be at the bargaining table.