With the current employee contract set to expire early next week, contract talks between the newspaper’s management and the union representing staffers have broken down, the Canadian Press reports.

The contract expires next Tuesday, June 23 30 at midnight.

Brad Honywill, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, told CP that there are no meetings scheduled between now and the expiry date.

Last week, union members voted 97 per cent in favour of authorizing their bargaining committee to call a strike.

According to the CP report:

“Management had proposed a six-year-deal, which would convert its defined-benefits pension plan into a defined-contribution plan, which offers a lower payment.

It has also proposed a total compounded salary increase of 7.2 per cent over six years, one unpaid week off each year, a workday increase to 7.5 hours from seven, with no extra pay for the half hour, overtime paid at straight time for the first half hour and changes to pensions.”