VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Teachers at VCC are very unhappy there won’t be classes next Wednesday, thanks to another day of job action by support staff.

Frank Cosco, president of the VCC Faculty Association, says he can’t understand why the college’s teaching assistants and tutors can’t get the same deal other unions have been getting.

“The government seems to be playing favourites. It has established a settlement pattern for financial matters in the public sector with its new contracts for the BCGEU and the nurses. But for some reason the government is treating college support staff differently,” he insists.

CUPE support staff, who walked out for the first time on Tuesday, have been without a contract for two years.

Cosco says the loss of a day of classes is extremely disruptive, given it’s the end of the term and programs at the college require attendance every day.

“We can’t just assign more work. We specialize in health and other skills-oriented programs. Students have to practice. If you miss a day, you miss many hours of instruction and practice.”

CUPE locals across the province have been staging job action at various universities. Employees at the University of Northern BC and Thompson Rivers University have tentative agreements.