(Friday, July 18, 2025 – Halifax, NS) – After two days of conciliation, the Dalhousie Faculty Association was unable to reach an agreement with the employer, Dalhousie University Board of Governors.
“The Board walked away from the table, ending all discussions,” says DFA President David Westwood. “To abruptly end conciliation early despite positive progress at the bargaining table is irresponsible to the institution and horrible for students and their families. Unfortunately, it is in keeping with the Board’s tone and aggressive posture since we began bargaining in late May.”
It appears that the Board wants to lock-out faculty members by mid-August, which would effectively delay the start of the school year for thousands of students. “It is an incredibly reckless strategy to threaten the start of the school year when so many students are making their final decision on which school to attend,” notes Westwood. “The Board talks about their concern for the university’s budget. Why would they create a conflict that would deliver a devastating blow to enrolment? How this strategy is in the best interest of Dalhousie or its community is impossible to understand.”
The DFA bargains with the Dalhousie Board of Governors and the current agreement expired June 30, 2025. DFA filed a notice to bargain April 1, 2025 as is routine timing each round of bargaining. Negotiations began the last week of May, and after only four bargaining meetings held May 19-23, the Board of Governors filed for conciliation on June 2. One more bargaining meeting was held June 20, and then Mr. Rick Rose was appointed as the conciliation officer on June 23, 2025. Two days of conciliation were held July 15 and 16, 2025.
“While conciliation happened early and ended prematurely, DFA is ready for job action,” says Westwood. “That said, job action is challenging for everyone, faculty, staff and students, alike. The DFA Bargaining Team is willing to keep bargaining, and we hope the Board comes back to the table with a willingness to find a solution to outstanding issues.”
Earlier this month, 85.5% of the DFA membership participated in a strike vote. Of those, an overwhelming 91.2% voted in favour of going on strike if an acceptable deal cannot be reached.
There are many outstanding issues on the table that have yet to be fully discussed. They include: wages that account for cost-of-living increases and are on par with the pattern in the sector, preventing fulltime jobs from becoming precarious sessional contracts; ending the practice of using limited-term contracts for continuing teaching needs; expanding access to childcare and ensuring workloads are fair and reasonable.