After taking a break to recollect themselves Saturday morning, the union representing 21,000 of the city’s inside workers met with city negotiators for much of the afternoon and evening before adjourning for the night.

The city and CUPE Local 79 agreed to a 24-hour extension of a midnight strike deadline as contract talks aimed at avoiding a work stoppage ended for the day late on Friday night. They then agreed to another 24-hour deadline extension on Saturday afternoon, meaning the new strike deadline is 12:01 a.m. Monday morning.

“We are in discussions in an attempt to find a resolution for our members’ needs,” CUPE Local 79 President Tim Maguire told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

CUPE’s negotiators said they spent the early part of Saturday afternoon consulting with members to consult on different issues, and then met with the mediator and city officials to resume bargaining.

This morning, the union said the two sides are still “far apart” on key issues, including the number of workers on short-term temporary contracts.

Maguire suggested the city is still pushing for concessions to be made at the bargaining table. He said that the union “moved” closer to the city’s position when they proposed a new framework on Tuesday.

“We would like the city to meet us halfway and find a settlement that both meets the needs of the city but also meets the needs of our members,” Maguire said.

He reiterated that the deadline extension is not set in stone, and his union is willing to continue talks beyond the latest deadline. He said the union and the city mutually agreed on extending the deadline to Monday morning.

Talks between the two sides adjourned just before 9 p.m. on Saturday.

On Friday morning CUPE Local 416 President Matt Alloway emerged from a conference room at the Doubletree Hotel on Chestnut Street to announce that a deal between that union – which represents approximately 4,200 outside workers – and the city had been reached.

The deal will now be presented to CUPE Local 416 members for ratification in the coming days. If ratified by the membership, the deal would then have to be approved by city council.

“This has been a very difficult and challenging round of bargaining but we have emerged from this process with a tentative agreement,” Alloway said. “I want to commend the bargaining committee for their dedication and hard work in this process.”