Faculty and support staff at NSCC move closer to strike

CITYnews halifax / By Dan Ahlstrand

Faculty and support staff working at Nova Scotia Community College’s 14 campuses across the province have filed for conciliation after talks on a new contract broke down.

In November, the union membership voted 97 percent in favour of strike action, and at that time, they set a strike deadline of January 15th. On Friday, they filed for conciliation.

The union cites working conditions, wages, fair hiring, or protection of bargaining unit work as some of the issues in negotiations.

Union President Barbara Gillis said in a statement that the union members are dealing with greater workplace and classroom challenges without the necessary tools, time or college support to do their jobs safely and effectively, adding that faculty and staff are dealing with an ever-growing number of students dealing with mental health and learning challenges.

If talks fail and union members hit the picket lines, it would be the first strike in the history of NSCC.