The ongoing strike by New Brunswick's college custodians is beginning to force the province's campuses to shut down.

New Brunswick Community College campuses in Fredericton and Bathurst cancelled all classes earlier this week. The cancellations are expected to remain in place until custodians return to work.

In St. Andrews, classes have been also been cancelled but students will be able to have access to computer labs, student services and the library for two hours each day for the remainder of the strike.

The campuses in Miramichi, Moncton, Saint John, Woodstock, Dieppe and Acadian Peninsula are operating on half-day schedules that see part of the student population attend classes in the morning while the remainder goes in the afternoon.

The schools have changed their class schedules because of health and safety concerns, said Elaine Bell, spokeswoman with the Department of Post-Secondary Education.

Garbage had been piling up and cafeterias and many washrooms at the campuses had been shut down.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1251 went on strike on Jan. 10, sending about 500 custodians, corrections officers and human service counsellors to picket lines around the province. Only 20 per cent of the correctional officers are allowed to strike because of safety issues.

In December, union members voted 90 per cent in favour of a strike. The local's collective agreement expired in June 2007 and the union is fighting to align its salaries more closely with similar jobs in other provinces.

The union says its custodians earn $1.12 less an hour than public school custodians while the correctional officers working in the provincial jails are the lowest paid in the country.

The same union local went on strike in 2003 and was out for 22 days.

'Distressing and unacceptable'

About 50 students rallied at a demonstration in Moncton on Wednesday calling on the union and the government to reach a deal before the semester is lost.

"The looming possibility of losing our school year is nothing short of distressing and unacceptable," said Moncton student Shannon St. Onge.

Many students studying trades are enrolled in seven-week programs and are concerned the semester will need to be repeated because of the strike, St. Onge said.

"Presently we're at school and we receive only half a day of class," said Dieppe student Christian Robichaud. "The bottom line is we don't receive what we pay for so we're fed up and we want it resolved."

The two sides in the labour dispute returned to the negotiating table on Jan. 24 after Human Resources Minister Wally Stiles called for a resumption to the stalled talks in an effort to save the semester for the students and end the disruption facing other government operations.