It’s Day 2 on the picket lines for unionized instructors and teacher assistants at Dalhousie.
The two side have been working at a deal for the past two years but talks broke off earlier this week over pay.
“A labour dispute is one of the more challenging experiences a university community can go through. It puts strain on nearly every facet of our university — most of all, on our students. In the case of a CUPE strike, it’s important to remember that many of those who are striking are also students themselves,” said Deep Saini, President and Vice-Chancellor.
The university is offering increases of 17 per cent for TA’s and 30 per cent for markers and demonstrators.
They revealed the details of their final offer on the first day of the strike.
“The past two years of bargaining have included extensive work with a conciliator and one tentative agreement reached that was voted down by CUPE members earlier this year. Unfortunately, despite what we feel has been significant progress made at the table, the two sides have not been able to fully align on the particulars of how to achieve these shared goals. CUPE 3912 members have decided to exercise their legal right to strike action,” said Saini.
The workers are represented by CUPE and many classes are still being held during the strike while some others are suspended.
Another sticking point is the union wants all academic support roles classified as teacher’s assistants.
Dalhousie’s proposal
In the interest of transparency, the final offer presented at the table on behalf of Dal’s Board of Governors has been made publicly and is available on their Labour Relations website. The proposal is a three-year contract and would include:
- A 12 per cent wage increase to part-time academics
- An 8 per cent wage increase to hourly paid instructors
- A 17 per cent wage increase to Teaching Assistants
- A 30 per cent wage increase to Markers and Demonstrators
In addition to monetary considerations, there are two other issues raised by CUPE during negotiations.
- CUPE has requested that all TAs receive their offer letter of employment one week prior to the start of classes.
- CUPE has also requested that we eliminate the Marker and Demonstrator roles entirely and classify all CUPE members as Teaching Assistants.
