The leader of the union that represents Quebec’s public engineers said a strike is not out of the question if progress isn’t made in contract negotiations.

Marc-Andre Martin, elected in the fall to head the union, told La Presse that the 2017 roadwork season could be compromised if there is no movement in talks that have gone on for two years.

The union voted for a strike mandate in June, but chose not to carry it out during the summer due to ongoing issues in the transport ministry, where 800 of the union’s 1,400 members work.

Martin said the parties are “light-years” apart on an agreement, especially on the issues of wages.

The engineers’ collective agreement expired on March 31, 2015. A strike would likely disrupt roadwork planned for the summer.

The engineers’ last strike was in 1966.