Dalhousie, faculty union begin 14-day countdown to possible strike or lockout

Contract talks and conciliation efforts between Dalhousie University and the Dalhousie Faculty Association have broken down, kicking off a 14-day countdown to a lockout or strike.

One final date of conciliation has been scheduled for Aug. 11, and if no tentative agreement is reached, a strike or lockout could start on Aug. 12. Either side is required to provide at least 48 hours of notice before a lockout or strike can occur.

The Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) represents nearly 1,000 professors, instructors, librarians and professional counsellors at Nova Scotia's largest university.

The collective agreement between the union and Dal's board of governors expired on June 30. Negotiations in May failed to see the two sides come to an agreement, and the board filed for conciliation in June. The conciliator filed his report on Monday, noting that the parties were at an impasse and triggering the countdown.

Earlier this month, 85 per cent of eligible DFA members participated in a strike vote, with 91 per cent of those who cast a ballot voting in favour of a strike if an agreement is not reached.

David Westwood, president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, said he's not optimistic there will be a resolution before the deadline.

"They've basically said the board has authorized this offer and that's the most that they're going to approve," Westwood said. "There's no more flexibility. So I think they are serious."

Wages and job security key issues

Westwood said from the union's perspective, there are several unresolved issues, but the two main sticking points in the contract negotiations are wages and job security.

The board has proposed wage increases of two per cent each year for three years, while the union has asked for a seven per cent increase in the first year of the agreement and four per cent increases in each of the following two years.

Additionally, Westwood said, the board wants to change a clause in the agreement that governs what percentage of teaching work must be done by DFA members rather than by sessional workers or administrators.

Under the collective agreement that just expired, 90 per cent of teaching work must be done by DFA members, but the board wants to reduce that to as low as 80 per cent. Westwood said sessional workers are paid less and do not have the job security that DFA members have.

The labour impasse comes at a time when universities are struggling to balance their books. Provincial government funding has stagnated, and Nova Scotia universities were mandated this year to freeze tuition for some students.

To grapple with its $20-million operating budget deficit for the coming year, Dalhousie University has already told all faculties and units to reduce their budgets by one per cent and absorb any compensation increases.

In a statement to CBC News on Tuesday, a university spokesperson said the school remains hopeful that an agreement can be reached, but acknowledged the possibility of a labour disruption.

"No one at Dalhousie wants this outcome, including the negotiating teams for both sides at the table," reads the statement from Janet Bryson. "The consequences for our students and our Dal community would be significant, especially against the backdrop of the challenges Dalhousie and peer universities across Canada are facing at this time."

The statement said given the university's current deficit, it is not able to meet the union's salary proposal.

Westwood said he doesn't buy the argument that Dalhousie doesn't have the money to pay faculty members cost of living increases.

"Budgets are choices. It isn't that there isn't money, it's that the board wants to spend the money on other things," he said.

Potential impact of summer labour disruption

Even though campuses are not as busy in the summer as they are during the fall and winter terms, a summer labour disruption would still have an impact, Westwood said.

He said if faculty were on the picket lines in August, they wouldn't be doing course preparation, so they'd need time to do that before classes begin. That means the start of the term could be delayed, he said.

August is also the key time for graduate students to defend their theses, and a strike or lockout would prevent them from finishing their degrees on time.

Westwood said a labour disruption could also prompt some students to make the decision to attend a different school in September, causing a loss of tuition revenue for the university.