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CBU’S biggest union starts strike

NICOLE SULLIVAN CAPE BRETON POST nicole.sullivan @cbpost.com @Cbpostnsullivan

SYDNEY — The halls at Cape Breton University were unusually quiet for a Friday.

The cafeteria, usually full during the winter semester, was half empty as thousands of students who are normally in class were home due to striking Cape Breton University Faculty Association members.

Contract negotiations between the union, which includes some faculty, librarians, lab instructors and others, have been ongoing for nine months. However, the two sides hit a roadblock in regard to salary.

As of 6:30 a.m. Friday, more than 200 members hit the picket line on Grand Lake Road in front of the university in groups of 20 to 30.

Friday at 11 a.m., a group was also stationed outside the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion. They greeted people going into a luncheon with Premier Tim Houston, who spoke about the state of the province and announced CBU would be opening a medical school in 2025.

“They have a legitimate right to strike and hopefully in the coming days there will be a meeting of the minds,” CBU president David Dingwall told The Cape Breton Post at the luncheon.

“The strike is what it is and they are simply exercising their right.”

STUDENT SUPPORT, STUDENT WORRY

While the CBU Students' Union has been clear it is staying neutral, some students made it clear who they are supporting by joining the picket line.

Matthew Macleod, a fourth-year psychology student, joined the line at 8 a.m. in support of CBU'S largest union, which has more than 200 members.

“I know a lot of students who are frustrated with the administration. We all want to do what we can to support the faculty and staff,” said Macleod.

First-year baccalaureate student Muskan Bihana, who is studying health management, isn't sure what side she supports. But the woman from India is worried about how the strike will affect her and other students.

“I don't want to have a strike or anything. It is better if they have, like, mutual negotiation. That would be better for the campus and the students, as well,” Bihana said.

SALARY DEBATE

Cape Breton University Faculty Association president Adango Miadonye said the union is open to resuming talks with the administration if they are willing to be “serious in their negotiations.”

Rod Nicholls is part of the bargaining committee for CBU administration and is frustrated to see the strike come to fruition.

“The salary offer, the only issue on the table, is fair given the terms of reference: people performing similar duties and responsibilities at other Nova Scotia institutions,” Nicholls said.

For students worried about losing the term or course credits, Nicholls reassured them there hasn't been a strike at a university in Canadian history where the term was lost.

SAINT MARY’S

Coincidentally, full-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax have given their union a strike mandate. Of its members who cast a ballot, 98 per cent voted in favour of strike action as negotiations between the union and administration have broken down.

“The strong strike mandate we’ve received from our members speaks to our institution’s need to value and invest in its faculty,” said Cathy Conrad, vice-president of the Saint Mary’s University Faculty Union, in a news release Thursday.

“A fair and equitable agreement for faculty at Saint Mary’s University is the most effective way to create an exceptional learning environment for our students. Our members are determined to get exactly that.”

The collective agreement between SMUFU and the university expired Aug. 31, 2022. The union says it is seeking salary and benefits terms that are comparable with similar universities.

The union is the bargaining agent for about 300 full-time professors, librarians and instructors at Saint Mary’s.

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2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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