Picket lines were up at the Nanaimo North branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library branches on Monday as job action by unionized librarians entered its fourth week.
The parties recently exchanged updated proposals but remained deadlocked as of Monday afternoon.
No talks are scheduled.
The B.C. General Employees Union, which represents nearly 50 librarians in the 39-branch system who have been without a contract since December 2020, has been staging rotating strikes.
On Saturday, it had pickets outside 10 Island branches and on Sunday, the Nanaimo North branch was behind pickets.
On Monday, only the Nanaimo North branch was closed due to picketing, said library spokesman David Carson.
BCGEU members did not go to work on Monday at the Chemainus, Comox, Cowichan Lake, Ladysmith, Nanaimo Harbourfront and Nanaimo Wellington branches, but those branches remained open, he said.
The library’s most recent offer, resulting from March 22 mediation, remains on the table, Carson said.
“We had hoped the offer — which was within the range the union had asked for and was sustainable for our 39 member municipalities and regional districts — would end this impasse. Unfortunately, it did not and the latest counteroffer from BCGEU continues to exceed the scope VIRL can reasonably accommodate.”
Wages are the main issue in the dispute.
Union officials have said they need the library system to recognize the rising cost of living, particularly on Vancouver Island, and want to see protection from inflation.
The bulk of the Vancouver Island Regional Library’s $31-million budget is covered by municipalities and regional districts within its borders.
It covers a vast area, from Sooke to Sidney, B.C.’s coast and Haida Gwaii.
