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VICTORIA — The New Democrats breathed a collective sigh of relief on the weekend at the sudden settlement of a three-week strike by support workers in Saanich school district.

The provincial government had been under increasing pressure to intervene — with money, ministerial action or both — as the strike headed toward its fourth week.

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Dean Coates, president of CUPE Local 441 representing the support workers, urged the New Democrats to top up the bargaining mandate by as much as $3 million to provide redress for the low wages earned by his members.

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation backed the strike, saying support workers were seeking low wage redress not unlike teachers themselves.

Even the NDP’s partner in power sharing, the Green party, urged the government to revise its hold-the-line stance.

“The provincial negotiating frame­work lacks the flexibility the school board requires to address the situation,” said Green MLA Adam Olsen, whose Saanich North constituency overlaps the school district. “It appears to back workers into a corner with conditions that punish them for advancing their interests.”