Talks between Dalhousie, faculty association end with no more scheduled

The ongoing labour dispute between Dalhousie University and the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) continues, with bargaining not resulting in any agreements.

The two sides met on Monday and, around 4:00 p.m. the next day, ended with no more dates to speak again. The two resumed discussions after the first week of the fall semester, was marred by no classes since many professors are locked out after the dispute began.

“At this time, the parties have no further conciliation dates scheduled,” an update Sept. 9 reads from the university.

Some courses taught by teaching assistants or part-time instructors, who are not part of the faculty union, have been going ahead. The Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) president told CityNews that the majority of classes at the school are taught by DFA members, meaning many students are in limbo during the dispute.

Picketing near Dalhousie’s engineering campus in downtown Halifax, Chiranjeev Sanyal, an assistant professor at the pharmacy school, told The Canadian Press on Monday that morale remains “very high” on picket lines.

The university locked out faculty on Aug. 20.

Since then, students have been caught in the crossfire. According to a press release from DSU, each week that classes are cancelled represents about 7 per cent of the semester.

“Students have either already paid or are preparing to pay thousands of dollars for classes and mentorship
that have been withheld through no fault of our own,” Maren Mealey, President of the DSU, said in the statement. “Students should not be forced to pay full tuition for an education we are not receiving.”

As a result, students are holding a rally to ask the university for tuition refunds based on time lost already this year.

The faculty’s current contract expired June 30, and Dalhousie has offered two per cent wage increases in each year of a three-year deal. Dalhousie’s faculty association has proposed increases of 3.75 per cent in the first year, 4.75 per cent in the second, and 5.75 per cent in the third.

As of July, the maximum salary for a lecturer was $123,000 and for a professor it was $217,000.