Updates

The Dalhousie University Board of Governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) will resume negotiations in the new year to resolve the remaining item unsettled through the conciliation board process. 

In late October, the University and the DFA mutually agreed to request the appointment of a conciliation board — a tool available through conciliation to help come to an agreement — following several bargaining sessions throughout the summer and early fall. Working through the conciliation board process, the parties came to agreement on most issues. The parties also agreed to pursue a two-year agreement rather than a typical three-year agreement, in appreciation of the long-term financial uncertainty posed by the current pandemic.

The final two items, salary increases and changes to education leave for instructors, were put to the conciliation board for review and recommendation and the Conciliation Board filed its recommendations on December 16, 2020. The Dalhousie Board has agreed to accept the conciliation board’s recommendation on salary but is not accepting the recommendations on education leave. 

To help resolve this final outstanding matter, the Dalhousie Board has provided DFA with an alternative proposal and the parties will continue active discussions to resolve this issue in the new year, with the aid of the government-appointed conciliator. 

Both parties have agreed there won’t be a lockout or strike until discussion has resumed and we’re confident that a settlement can be reached early in the new year.