Dalhousie University says they will lock out faculty on Wednesday morning if the two sides fail to reach an agreement.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to come to terms on a new collective agreement, and the DFA leadership have been delaying our efforts to resolve this matter before the fall term starts,” Dalhousie president Kim Brooks said in a letter to students.
“The impasse is significant enough that a labour disruption has become inevitable and, if so, it is better for Dalhousie — and most of all, our students — that one happens now, in August, instead of commencing after fall term classes begin in September.”
The Dalhousie University Faculty Association say members are currently voting on an offer, and that is not scheduled to end until Thursday, making at least a temporary lockout seem inevitable.
The faculty association says that regardless of whether a deal is reached, the move will push back the start of the school year.
“Locking out our members when they’re preparing for the start of the term guarantees that every minute, every day that’s lost to preparation will need to be added on to the start of the term, because you can’t manufacture time,” faculty association president David Westwood said.
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Faculty say the two sides met with a conciliator on August 11 in which the board made a final offer before walking away from the meeting.
The union says they presented the offer to their members on August 14 and that a vote is currently underway which will end Thursday.
Faculty say they made board aware of the vote but said it went ahead with its announcement regardless.
“It is important to note that this is a labour disruption initiated by the employer, not by the union,” Westwood stated in a release.
“We have been clear all along that our objective is to negotiate at the table.”
While the school has announced a lockout, it is also worth noting that faculty had voted last month in favour of a strike if conciliation talks did not get the contract dispute solved.
Faculty had been seeking a seven per cent pay raise in the first year of a new deal followed by consecutive four per cent pay bumps whereas the school is offering a two per cent yearly increase.
“DFA is asking for wages that keep up with inflation and make up for 9 per cent loss in real wages we have incurred over the past 10 years,” says Westwood.
“We are also fighting to keep full-time jobs from being converted to sessional contracts.”
The school has told Global News they must reduce expenses by $75 million by the 2027-28 school year.
The teachers say Dalhousie’s poverty claims are a myth, pointing to construction on a $35 million hockey rink as evidence.
The current contract between the school and the association had expired on June 30.
*With files from Global News’ staff
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