A federal mediator has been called in to try to help settle a first contract for workers at the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories according to a report by CBC News. The federal mediator would arrive February 9 to assist the negotiating process.

The workers, members of the Union of Northern Workers, will be holding a strike vote between January 26 and February 10. If a settlement cant be reached, 450 workers at the mine could walk off the job a month from now.

The report cited union president Todd Parsons as saying the negotiations were at an impasse on key issues including wages, seniority and job security. "I cant be specific in detail because BHP hasnt been very responsive. Theyve been very indifferent, as well as disrespectful when it comes to any form of serious negotiations on the monetary issues themselves," Parsons told CBC. "So we havent discussed monetary issues in any detail."