ANTIGONISH, N.S. — Classes for about 4,800 students at St. Francis Xavier University were called off Monday after about 400 faculty and support staff at the school in Nova Scotia went on strike.
Peter McInnis, president of the school’s association of teachers, said there were no last-minute contract talks with the administration at the school in Antigonish.
McInnis said picket lines went up at five locations around the campus and would be in place between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
The strike was a last resort after eight months of contract negotiations, he said.
“When we entered negotiations we said we would always go back to the table if we were invited to,” said McInnis. “When we told the administration that we would in fact undertake strike action this morning we also included an invitation (to resume negotiations), but they didn’t take us up on it.”
The faculty association has been without a contract since June. McInnis said it can’t accept the university’s latest offer because salary increases are well below the cost-of-living.
“It’s a rare event,” said McInnis. “It takes a lot to get professors riled ... to the point that they want to do something like this, but it’s perhaps been a long time coming.”
School spokeswoman Cindy MacKenzie said the contract offer includes a minimum salary increase of nearly seven per cent with an average increase of 16 per cent.
“The university made a fair and reasonable offer comparable to national and regional settlements,” said MacKenzie.
“The bottom line is that government cuts to post-secondary funding have put the university into a deficit and will result in cuts to programs and services and make any settlement difficult.”
MacKenzie said although there were no classes on Monday, it urged students to stay on campus and focus on their studies.
McInnis said students are expressing “a range of emotions” but have been mostly supportive, adding that the association received a petition in support of the strike that was signed by about 800 students.
“They understand that we are really trying to defend the academic mission and that the university administrators have lost their way,” he said.
“Because we’re the professors actually in the classrooms in front of them, they do listen to us.”
