With no communication between the union and the Saanich School District for days, a 10-day strike keeping nearly 8,000 children out of classrooms will stretch into a third week, the district confirmed Sunday.
On Thursday, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 441 president Dean Coates called on the province to provide additional funding to the district to bring support workers’ wages in line with those in neighbouring districts.
But the province said Friday it won’t be providing more funding.
In an email, the Ministry of Finance said CUPE 441 can reach a deal within what the ministry called the most generous bargaining mandate in more than a decade.
“Our government believes that solutions are best found at the bargaining table,” the ministry wrote. “Nurses, paramedics, care aids and social workers have all reached deals within the mandate, and CUPE 441 can, too.”
The district has said it’s offering the maximum amount of money it is able to within a provincial framework that regulates public-sector wage increases, limiting them to two per cent annually over three years. The district has offered boosts of 7.1 to 12.8 per cent over three years, with the higher increases targeted to staff with the lowest wages relative to other districts.
Coates has said the offer doesn’t do enough to address the wage disparity with neighbouring districts, which makes it difficult to attract and retain staff in support roles.
He said schools are often short-handed and education assistants are in “constant triage mode.”
The union represents about 500 support workers, including education assistants, custodial staff, bus drivers, administrative staff, maintenance staff and counsellors.
The strike began Oct. 28, shutting 14 schools across Saanich, Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney.
