Dalhousie Faculty Association rejects arbitration, files Labour Board complaint

Dalhousie Faculty Association Rejects University’s Offer for Interest Arbitration

The Dalhousie University’s faculty association has declined an offer from the university’s board of governors to participate in interest arbitration. This decision comes after members of the Dalhousie Faculty Association have been locked out since Aug. 13, with the union initiating a defensive strike two days later due to the expiration of their contract on June 30.

The university recently extended an invitation for interest arbitration to the union in hopes of resolving the ongoing dispute. However, the faculty association released a statement stating that interest arbitration would have only focused on the issue of wages, and participation in the process was contingent on the union dropping all other proposals.

“The board deliberately misrepresented their offer in their messaging, omitting the key detail that their proposal on interest arbitration required the DFA to abandon all unresolved proposals except wages,” said association president David Westwood.

Wages have been a central point of contention in the contract negotiations, with the university offering two per cent increases for each year of a three-year contract, while the faculty association proposed increases of 3.75 per cent, 4.75 per cent, and 5.75 per cent over three years to address the gap with inflation.

In addition to wage issues, other concerns such as the conversion of limited-term appointments to career-stream appointments, expanded parental leave benefits, access to childcare, and class scheduling policies are also on the table.

The faculty association also decided to file a bargaining complaint with the Labour Board on Thursday, citing the university’s use of public messages to negotiate directly with DFA members as an attempt to bypass the bargaining process.

As classes at Dalhousie are set to resume on Tuesday, any classes taught by DFA members will be suspended, while those taught by non-DFA members will proceed as scheduled. The union’s decision to reject interest arbitration reflects their commitment to addressing a range of issues beyond just wages in the ongoing contract dispute.