By Emily Baron Cadloff
The union representing part-time faculty at three Halifax universities says its members could strike at the same time, potentially disrupting classes for thousands of students.
Part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Dalhousie are in various stages of contract negotiations. And Lauren McKenzie, president of CUPE, says talks between the local unions and the schools are difficult. A key issue for union members across the three universities is job security, McKenzie said.
Most part-time faculty have to renegotiate their contracts each semester, a process that she says isn’t only an administrative headache, but one that prevents her members from planning for their future. McKenzie says the only difference between part-time and full-time faculty is job security.
“We do the same work,” she said. “We have the same credentials. The university does not provide (full-time) jobs. We have no benefits. We have no health benefits. We have no pension. We have near-poverty wages. We are some of the lowest paid academic workers in the country, although our institutions here in Nova Scotia have some of the highest tuitions in the country. There is something wrong with this.”
Talks between Saint Mary’s and the union have reached an impasse, McKenzie said, and the staff recently voted to strike with an 87 per cent majority. Part-time staff at Dalhousie have also voted overwhelmingly to strike if their talks — scheduled for October — break down further. Part-time faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University will vote later this week on whether to strike, and both sides are currently in conciliation.
CUPE says part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s teach roughly one-third of all classes. At Dalhousie, part-timers teach 10 per cent of classes, while at Mount Saint Vincent they are responsible for nearly 60 per cent.
McKenzie says that while it’s too early to be certain, it is possible that part-time faculty across all three universities could strike at the same time. That has the potential to disrupt classes for thousands of students.
Representatives from Dalhousie say the university “remains optimistic that a deal can be reached” before the conciliation talks finish in mid-October.
Isabelle Nault, vice president of administration at Mount Saint Vincent, says the school is “committed to the bargaining process and to reaching a renewed collective agreement that reflect the interests of both parties.”
Representatives from Saint Mary’s say the school intends to reach fair agreements in good faith. “Our priority is student success and the continuity of teaching and research.”
The labour strife comes on the heels of a lockout involving full-time faculty at Dalhousie University that delayed the start to fall classes before the union reached a deal with the administration. Full-time faculty at Dalhousie were locked out on Aug. 20, and remained on strike for nearly a month. Students returned to classes Tuesday.
