The Bermuda Electric Light Company’s workers union voted unanimously last night to approve a 21-day strike notice. The notice will be delivered to the utility company sometime today.

All 100-plus members of the Electricity Supply Trade Union present last night were united in their stance to strike if Belco doesn’t meet demands on salary and wages.

Talks between the two sides have been steadily deteriorating over the past few months, until finally, talks broke down completely.

Arrangements were made for arbitration to begin this past Monday but the two sides couldn’t settle on an arbitration panel, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

The inability to get started on arbitration appears to be what fuelled momentum for the strike vote.

A Belco spokesperson contacted last night after the vote said she had not heard of any union action or threatened strike.

The workers on the verge of walking out include overhead line and trench workers, people who work in customer service, and engine operators — among others. In all the union in question represents 240 employees.

One union member present at last night’s meeting, who asked not to be identified, said a vote of this kind is rare.

The source said: “Belco and this union have never been to arbitration. Over the last two years relations between Belco and the union have deteriorated to a point where a third party is needed to intervene in this matter.”

In January 2006, the Electricity Supply Trade Union issued a similar 21-day strike notice after 12-months of talks broke down, but the threatened strike never happened. The source who spoke last night said the two sides are squabbling over a relatively tiny sum: “We’re talking about a very small amount of money.”

The source could not specifically recall the last time Belco employees went on strike but one estimate suggested the most recent worker action dates back to the 1960s.