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Judge lifts limit on number of workers who can picket in Yellowknife

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Yellowknife City Hall is pictured in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Monday, February 6, 2023. The Union of Northern Workers says it is pleased with a ruling by a Northwest Territories Supreme Court judge to lift restrictions on the number of people who can picket outside city facilities in Yellowknife.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Emily Blake

YELLOWKNIFE — The Union of Northern Workers says it is pleased with a ruling by a Northwest Territories Supreme Court judge to lift restrictions on the number of people who can picket outside city facilities in Yellowknife.

Unionized workers with the City of Yellowknife have been locked out and on strike since Feb. 8, after bargaining teams failed to reach a deal on a new collective agreement. 

Justice Andrew Mahar amended an order he made earlier this weeklimiting their strike action.

The order had prevented more than six people from picketing at sites where the city does business for 10 days.

However, it stills restricts union members from obstructing access to those sites and causing delays longer than 10 minutes. 

The city filed for the temporary injunction Tuesday claiming wait times for vehicles delayed by picketing workers were increasing and, if not addressed, could cause irreparable harm.

The union has said it plans to continue fighting injunction, which it says infringes on workers' rights.

A court hearing on the matter is scheduled to take place Tuesday.

The Canadian Press

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