Dalhousie faculty headed back to negotiating table
Posted Feb 29, 2012 06:51:53 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
While negotiations have stalled between Metro Transit and its union, the Dalhousie Faculty Association says they’ll meet with university management to try to avoid a strike.
The union will be in a legal strike position in less than two weeks.
Dalhousie University spokesperson Charles Crosby says exams are quickly approaching and a strike will cause major scheduling problems.
“That’s one the reasons we’ve been so keen to get back to the table,” he said. “This isn’t an esoteric exercise, this is something that’s going to impact students. The only way we’re going to come to an agreement is if we get talking.”
Two weeks ago, faculty members voted 83 per cent in favour of a strike. Wages and changes to the pension plan are two of the major areas of disagreement between the union and the employer.
Both parties will return to the bargaining table for scheduled talks on Thursday and Friday.
“We’ve committed that we’re not going to see the term lost,” Crosby said. “That’s never happened at Dal and in fact I think it’s only ever happened once at a Canadian university ever. We’re of course looking into contingencies now, we’re actually drafting a contingencies plan.”
The Dalhousie Faculty Association represents 870 professors, instructors, librarians and counselors.
