Saanich School District support staff were on picket lines at 7 a.m. Monday after the union and school district failed to reach a compromise over the weekend in a dispute over wages.
“We regret we had to picket at schools,” said Dean Coates, CUPE Local 441 president. He said one of the main issues is wage parity with workers in other districts, who make more money.
The district includes schools in North Saanich, Central Saanich and Saanich. All 14 schools, one board office, two distance-education centres and one individual learning centre were behind picket lines, Coates said.
The Saanich Teachers’ Association has instructed teachers not to cross picket lines. As a result, nearly 8,000 students were out of school as parents scrambled to find care for them.
“Schools are unfortunately closed for instruction today and I know this is extremely inconvenient for parents and students,” said school district superintendent Dave Eberwein.
Coates said the union is willing to bargain around the clock for “a meaningful solution to our 40-year problem with wage parity.”
After days without talks, the district contacted the union via text message Saturday night to find out if members had accepted a proposal from the district made during a special meeting earlier Saturday, said Coates. The membership then decided to proceed with strike action, he said.
The union has given this example of a wage difference: an education assistant is paid $21.61 per hour under the last contract in the Saanich district, while a similar worker in the Sooke district makes $25.28, and one in the Greater Victoria district is paid $25.20 an hour.
One reason given for the lower wages is that Saanich district workers voted years ago to forgo a pay increase in favour of improving benefits.
A provincial mandate sets the maximum amount of money available for wage bargaining for all public-sector work.
Eberwein said the district has found creative ways to maximize the amount of money it’s able to offer. The proposal on the table offers support staff the maximum the district is allowed within the provincial mandate, he said.
He said the district has been told repeatedly by the province that the mandate will not be increased. “The risk for government in opening up the mandate for one union is that they have to open it for everybody. Our goal is to come to a resolution as quickly as possible.”
Coates said the proposal that members discussed Saturday, which the district put forth in September, offers an hourly pay increase of about 30 or 40 cents that is entirely funded by the members’ own money by converting Medical Services Plan paybacks to salary.
Lower wages make it hard to attract and retain staff in support roles, he said. As a result, schools are often short-handed and education assistants are in “constant triage mode.”
Coates said on Monday that the union understands the strike is inconvenient for families and students, but that support workers “need to take care of our families so we can take care of the families we service.”
“A lot of this is about our working conditions,” Coates said. “Ultimately, our working conditions are one and the same with the children’s learning conditions.”
Education Minister Rob Fleming said mediation is available for the dispute.
“We’ve concluded deals with 230,000 public servants right across the public service, including 43 with school-support staff,” he said. “I’m confident we can reach an agreement in Saanich School District.”
Fleming said he thinks the two parties can reach an agreement “working creatively.” He said the wage disparities “went totally unaddressed by the previous government.”
Meanwhile, parents across the district are scrambling to find last-minute childcare. James Taylor, vice-president of the Confederation of Parents’ Advisory Councils of Saanich, said the hardest part for parents is not knowing how long kids will be out of school.
He said parents and students seemed to be managing.
“The general sense is I think people were able to get through [Monday],” he said. “It’s a big disruption for kids and it’s tough.
“I think that the big-term thing is going to be how long will this lasts and how far in advance people can plan.”
— With files from Jeff Bell
