New Brunswick's striking custodians, jail guards and human resource counsellors have been presented a "final offer" from the government, Human Resources Minister Wally Stiles says.

Stiles told the Canadian Press the offer was made to the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1251 on Thursday and it is now up to the union to present it to its members.

CUPE Local 1251 went on strike on Jan. 10, sending about 500 community college custodians, corrections officers and Department of Social Development human resource counsellors to picket lines around the province. Only 20 per cent of the correctional officers are allowed to strike because of safety issues.

The strike has forced four of the New Brunswick Community College campuses to cancel their classes completely while the remainder have been functioning on half-day schedules.

The changes to the course schedules were needed due to health and safety concerns as the garbage piled up and cafeterias and washrooms inside the college buildings were forced to close, said Elaine Bell, spokeswoman for the Department of Post-Secondary Education.

Union members voted 90 per cent in favour of a strike in December. 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 two sides in the labour dispute returned to the negotiating table on Jan. 24 after 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.

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.

The union has meetings scheduled with its membership throughout the weekend.