Halifax Public Library Workers are getting ready to walk off the job.

In a release the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private (NSUPE Local 14) employees say negotiations with library management has come to an impasse and they have issued a strike notice for as early as August 26.

Unless a new collective agreement is reached before that date.

The union says key issues include fair wages, sick and parental leave.

Workers have been without a contract since March 31, 2023, and negotiations have been ongoing since October 2023 but have reached an impasse.

Union president Christina Covert says library staff work hard every day to provide valuable services to the community.

“…they deserve to be treated with respect and fairness and compensated with a wage that reflects the realities of living in 2024.”

Covert adds that the union has “no more room to move” and have reached a “threshold” of what they are willing to accept.

She says they realize a strike may cause inconvenience to the community, but they feel like they have no other choice.

NSUPE Local 14 represents 340 workers.

Another meeting with a conciliator is scheduled for August 25.