Left to right in photo Shane Swift, Kyle Bauder and Cam Brown – at the Oliver offices of FortisBC

Both sides say they want a settlement – but no love at the bargaining table.

Company locked out employees June 26.

This is 2 month old dispute – FortisBC and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers started talks Wednesday with veteran mediator Vince Ready.

The exchanged some contract language and broke off talks.

The IBEW Local 213 represents employees various generation, transmission and distribution operations, including power line technicians, electricians and system power dispatchers from Creston to the south and Central Okanagan.

IBEW also represents employees on the gas side of FortisBC in a different collective agreement. The gas employees are not impacted by this job action.

Both parties without a contract since January 31, of this year.

September could be a month when the two parties meet at the Labour Board arguing an IBEW claim that FortisBC managers are breaking the essential services order.

The last strike at the power company happened in 2001, which lasted four months.