Classes cancelled again in Saanich school district as support staff 'hold out' on strike

Eighteen schools in the Saanichschool district have been closed for a second straight day Tuesday as support workers continue their strike over unfair wages, with negotiations between the union and the district at an impasse.

With teaching staff respecting their colleagues' picket lines, there are no classes for 7,300 students at K-12schools in North Saanich, Central Saanich and Saanich.

The strike began Monday after 500 unionized support workers rejected the district's final offer to settle an ongoing wage dispute over the weekend.

The biggest issue for support staff is wage parity: someworkers in the district make several dollars less, per hour, than their counterparts in neighbouring school districts such asVictoria and Sooke.

Meanwhile, theSaanich district has said it can only shrink the gap by so much because it isbound to bargain within a provincial framework, which only allows for a two per cent wage increase per year.

James Taylor, president of the Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils in the Saanich School District, said he's been speaking with both the union and the district and doesn't see an end to the deadlock.

"I can't see a way out in this particular situation," Taylor said.

"This is something that they have to work out themselves," he told CBC's On The Island on Tuesday morning. "My fear is that what is needed to resolve this situation, really, is not within their control ... and if we don't find a solution within the next few days or next week, we're really going to see a heavy toll."

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 441 president DeanCoatessaid lower wages have been a problem for decades, creating recruitment and retention problems with staff. He previously described the union as being in a "constant state of triage" over the issue.

On Monday, Coatessaid workers aren't budging untileither the district or the province findsa way to get to parity.

"The bargaining committee's directive from the membership is to hold out," Coates said Monday.

District superintendent Dave Eberweinsaid support workers are paid hourly wagesthat are lower than those in other area districts by between 30 cents and$4 per hour becausethe union opted for better benefits decades ago.

Eberwein said the jobsthat lag behind in wages are typically in professions dominated bywomen.

Board vice-chair Elsie McMurphy said the board fully agrees the salaries need to be addressed, but said its hands are still tied by government mandate.

"We have no dispute with CUPE's objectives of trying to bridge that gap," McMurphy said Tuesday.

"I think it's highly unlikely that the province will intervene because literally hundreds of thousands of employees across the province are underneath this provincial framework ... so it would be a tough nut to crack to think that the province might open up the coffers for Saanich."

In a statement, the finance ministry said most support staff unions in B.C. have negotiated new contracts, and encouragedthe Saanich School District and CUPE 441 to do the same.

Parents of students have been told they need to find alternative care fortheir children while the 18 district schools are closed. Eberwein said the district hasa goodwill agreementwith child care facilities in some Saanich public schoolsto allow access to those sites.