No new talks are planned between Family and Children's Services of Guelph and Wellington and the union representing 123 striking workers.
Front line and support staff went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and workers hit the picket line Monday morning at the agency's main office on Eramosa Road.
The other two branch offices of FCS, at Shelldale Community Centre and in Elora, are currently closed as management of those locations are working out of the main office.
"No new talks are planned right now. We'll continue to accept invitations to return to the bargaining table, but we need the union leadership to indicate their willingness to compromise," FCS Executive Director Sheila Markle said Monday.
"There has to be give on their part and a willingness to find a solution and at this point that doesn't seem to be the case."
Cathy Thomas, president of CUPE 4325, said the union has shown a willingness to compromise, making several new offers in the past week, but hasn't received any new offers from management since April 4.
"I don't know where to go with that," Thomas said Monday as she walked the picket line with coworkers.
"They have a lawyer and we have CUPE, but this is our agency. Let's sit down face-to-face and see if we can work something out," Thomas said.
Markle said the agency is relying on 30 non-unionized employees to maintain essential services as much as possible.
"We don't have a lot of choice. Strike or no strike, we have certain regulations and standards we have to meet and we're endeavouring to meet those as best we can," Markle said.
"We're taking it day by day and we don't want it to be a long strike ... it's not going to be business as usual, but we're trying to ensure that there are no safety issues."
Non-urgent matters, such as meetings, are being postponed.
"Our staff deliver a lot of valuable service to families in our community and we want them back to work as soon as possible, but for the moment we're okay," Markle said.
Wages and seniority are the two key issues.
The last contract, which ran out in March 2015, had two years of no wage increase and CUPE wants the wage gap between unionized workers and management narrowed.
Thomas also said that job security for senior unionized workers is also on the table, as workers with 10-16 years experience currently have no layoff protection over less experienced workers.
They are seeking a new job classification in the contract that will protect those senior employees, Thomas said.
Markle said the agency works within balanced budget legislation and cannot run a deficit budget.
"We're doing the best we can for our staff under those constraints," she said.
Workers will be picketing in two shifts throughout the day at the Eramosa Road head office.
