Quebec professors union stands in solidarity with faculty locked out at Dalhousie

CITYnews halifax / By Rachel Morgan.

Members of a Quebec professors union are showing their support for faculty of Dalhousie University who have been locked out after a contract was not reached between members of the union and the institution.

The Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université (FQPPU) is calling on the university to return to the barganning table after what it calls an “authoritarian move” was made to impose the lockout before the university’s final offer was voted on.

The last contract for members of the Dalhousie Faculty Association ended on June 30 and negotiations for a new contract began in May. Talks ended in mid-July without a collective agreement and 91 per cent of DFA members voted in favour of a strike.

The faculty association has said the main issues in the dispute are wages and the university’s reliance on limited-term contracts. Members are seeking wages that keep up with inflation and make up for a nine per cent loss in real wages over the past 10 years.

According to the DFA, assistant professors alone make $7,000 less than the national median.

The FQPPU says what the DFA is asking for are “legitimate improvements” that should be reasonably expected.

“Ensuring decent conditions for the university’s faculty and professional staff also means safeguarding the quality of teaching and research that directly benefits not only students but society as a whole,” Madeleine Pastinelli, president of the FQPPU, said in a media release.

As students gear up to head back to campus this week, school may look a little bit different. The university says all classes taught by DFA members will be put on pause for the time being. Maren Mealey, Dalhousie Student Union president, said that is about 90 per cent of classes.

While the university is still encouraging undergraduates to return to campus as residences and dining halls will still be open, the FQPPU is asking Dalhousie to come back to the bargaining table.

“Resorting to a lockout—an employer weapon borrowed from the worst practices of the private sector—marks a dangerous precedent for the future of Canadian universities,” a release from the union states. “This conflict extends far beyond the boundaries of a single campus, raising fundamental questions about the future of universities as they face mounting pressures to adopt corporate-style management models.”