The City of Melville and its workers seem to be at a stalemate, as they work to hammer out a new contract.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 456, which represents the City’s inside and outside workers, says in a release Tuesday that the City has notified the province’s Labour Minister that negotiations have reached an impasse.

The two sides have been negotiating for months over working conditions and wages, and though CUPE said they did expected this to happen at some point, they say the timing of the City’s move was unexpected, as the two parties last met on December 2.

The union says they hoped to come to an agreement in the new year, without the Ministry of Labour and Workplace Safety getting involved, but they say the City declaring an impasse suggests they are not in a hurry to reach a new deal.