Dalhousie, faculty association agree to return to conciliation talks

The Dalhousie University board of governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association have both agreed to return to conciliation talks on Sept. 8.

In an email to its members Wednesday night, the faculty association said the conciliation officer appointed to the contract dispute has asked both sides to return to the table Monday to try to reach an agreement.

“DFA [Dalhousie Faculty Association] has agreed to this request and welcomes the opportunity to continue discussions with the board,” said the email from communications officer Catherine Wall.

In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Dalhousie University said it “welcomes the opportunity” to work toward resolving the contract dispute.

The statement, attributed to Grace Jefferies, Dalhousie’s vice-president of people and culture, said the board is available to meet with the DFA any time before Monday as well.

“If talks can be productive, and result in an outcome that allows our academic mission to resume in full, we see no reason to wait until Monday,” the statement said.

The university’s update said the board offered DFA leadership a revised offer on Sept. 2 that “maintains the board’s position on interest arbitration for wages and addresses all remaining non-monetary issues.”

Last week, the board invited the DFA to participate in interest arbitration, which would have solely focused on wages. The DFA declined, as participating would have forced the union to drop its other proposals.

Locked out and on strike

Members of the Dalhousie Faculty Association have been off the job since Aug. 20 after being locked out by the university when the two sides were not able to reach an agreement on a new contract.

The union representing nearly 1,000 professors, instructors, librarians and professional counsellors went on strike two days later.

The union has said recent collective agreements have not kept up with inflation, and its wage proposal is to make up for lost ground. Other issues include expanded parental leave benefits and flexible class scheduling policies.

The university has offered two per cent increases for each year of a three-year contract. The faculty association’s last proposal was for increases of 3.75 per cent, 4.75 per cent and 5.75 per cent over three years.

The faculty association said in the email it hopes its picket lines, support from students and pressure on social media will “help ensure the board comes to the table in a meaningful way, with a genuine interest in reaching an agreement.”

The Dalhousie Student Union voted Tuesday night to formally affirm its support for DFA members.

“The lockout undermines the core values of education,” said student union president Maren Mealey in a news release.

“Students depend on faculty not only for instruction, but for mentorship, research supervision, and academic guidance. We are strongly calling for the board to return to the bargaining table and engage in good faith to reach a fair deal with faculty.”

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