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CBC
8 minutes ago
- CBC
Uncertainty remains as Dalhousie, union fail to reach contract agreement
Uncertainty remains about the start of the school year at Dalhousie University as the board of governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association failed to reach a contract agreement during negotiation and conciliation efforts. The collective agreement for nearly 1,000 professors, instructors, librarians and professional counsellors at Nova Scotia's largest university expired on June 30. A last-ditch conciliation meeting was held Monday, but failed to see a resolution. The union will now bring the university's final offer to its membership for a vote. That vote will end on Aug. 21 at the earliest, though the deadline could be extended in order to give members more time to cast a ballot, said Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) president David Westwood. Either side must give 48 hours of notice before a strike or lockout begins. Westwood told CBC News in an email Tuesday that the DFA was assured a lockout would not occur this week, and the union says it will not call a strike in August. Classes are scheduled to begin on Sept. 2. Compensation key sticking point The two sides have reached an impasse over several key issues — most notably, compensation. The board has offered two per cent increases each year for three years, while the most recent union proposal has requested a seven per cent increase in the first year of the agreement and four per cent increases in each of the following two years. "The final offer is far below what we find acceptable in many ways, not just the fact that the cost of living adjustment is far below recent settlements in our sector," Westwood said in the statement. In an open letter to the DFA published Monday, university president Kim Brooks said the final offer "tries to balance fair compensation for faculty with our responsibility to ensure Dalhousie's long-term financial health." The statement says while the board's proposed wage increases are in line with current inflation rates, the university acknowledges they do not reflect the higher inflation rates of previous years. "We truly wish we could offer more," reads the letter. "Our priority with this offer is to protect core academic activity and minimize further significant layoffs in the years ahead. This is the most we can responsibly commit to at this time." The university recently passed an operating budget with a $20-million deficit for the coming year and has already told all faculties and units to reduce their budgets by one per cent and absorb any compensation increases. Proposed teaching rule change withdrawn Job security was another issue of concern to the faculty association, but the board withdrew a proposal that the union had objected to. The board wanted to change a clause that governs what percentage of teaching work must be done by DFA members rather than by sessional workers or administrators. Sessional workers are paid less and do not have the job security that DFA members have. Under the collective agreement that just expired, 90 per cent of teaching work must be done by DFA members, but the board wanted to reduce that to as low as 80 per cent. That proposal is no longer on the table. "We continue to believe Dalhousie must reimagine academic staffing models to meet changing needs, but it is in our collective best interests to face our current challenges together," reads the letter from Brooks. Last month, 85 per cent of eligible DFA members participated in a strike vote, with 91 per cent of those who cast a ballot voting in favour of a strike if an agreement is not reached. MORE TOP STORIES
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Ontario elementary teachers' union to make smaller class sizes its top issue when bargaining talks begin
A classroom at an elementary school in Toronto pictured on Jan. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young The union representing Ontario's English elementary teachers is vowing to make class sizes its top issue during collective bargaining talks. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) said the issue emerged as the top priority following a survey of its 84,000 members. Speaking to CTV News Toronto on Tuesday morning, ETFO President Karen Brown said while the issue of class sizes has been ongoing for years, it's reached a 'critical mass.' 'We're saying that the government needs to invest in public education, and they need to look at reducing class size. Reduction in class size is one way to address some of the violence that we're seeing in schools. Reduction in class size means more one-to-one attention for our students,' she said. 'And we also know with the reduction in class size, it means an opportunity for the educators to focus on our most vulnerable students.' The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Aug. 31, 2026. According to ETFO, there are no caps on class size for Grades 4 to 8, which are funded to support 24 students. The union said it has resulted in large class sizes, often with 30+ students of varying needs, prompting them to call on the Ministry of Education to impose a cap of 24 for those grades and 26 in kindergarten. Brown does not expect that the issue will be resolved in one round of bargaining but hopes that it'll prompt the government to begin forming a long-term strategy to address it. 'We know that, as I said before, more one-to-one attention with the students provides better outcomes,' she said. 'I think we're all in agreement. We want to see students succeed, and this is one thing that we can do. It's not going to solve all the issues, but it's a start.' ETFO announced it launched a public bargaining campaign—'smaller classes, BIG DIFFERENCE'—to bring awareness to the issue. 'We've been pushing this, and our members are saying it's time. It's time that smaller class sizes make a real difference,' Brown said. 'We know that when students are able to focus and have that additional adult to secure, to support and guide their learning, we see those outcomes. When students don't have that attention, they're struggling on their own to meet those needs.' During her opening remarks at the union's annual meeting at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in downtown Toronto on Monday, Brown informed members that the campaign will be on billboards, in movie theatres and social media. Brown shared that she has spoken with Education Minister Paul Calandra twice in July and that he committed to going on school visits with her in the fall. 'I think we can hopefully try to build ongoing communications with this minister. And I'm hoping it's not just talk, that he really wants to be a partner, working together with ETFO as a stakeholder in public education to make a difference for our educators and the students in this province,' she said. ETFO represents 80,000 teachers and occasional teachers as well as 3,500 early childhood educators, education support personnel and professional support personnel.
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Amherstburg ends all conversations with Windsor over renewing policing agreement
The Town of Amherstburg has officially ceased all conversations with the City of Windsor over renewing their policing agreement. An update was provided during Amherstburg's council meeting on Monday evening where it was stated by mayor Michael Prue that the town will no longer be moving forward with Windsor Police. Town administration was in ongoing negotiations with the service after it was announced in February 2025 that the city would end the deal to provide policing in Amherstburg once the current contract expired on December 31, 2028. Prue stated during Monday's meeting that moving forward, Windsor Police will no longer be an option for policing the Town of Amherstburg. He says they only had one question to see if Windsor Police would keep the town on. 'We didn't even ask the price, we asked a simple question, that should we decide to stay with the Windsor Police, would they ensure that Amherstburg had a representative on the board with voice and vote. It was taken back to the council of the City of Windsor, the council of the City of Windsor said no.' Prue says the town has other options to look into. 'We are terminating that as an item of discussion. We will not be staying with the Windsor Police. There are still three options left: one is we can go our own, one is we can continue to discuss the option with LaSalle, and the third one is the option with the OPP." Prue says the town will continue to provide updates on policing as it becomes available. Windsor has been providing policing in the town since January 2019 after the Amherstburg council voted to approve a 20-year contract with the city and disband the former town police service. The city stated the reason behind ending the agreement was due to increasing policing costs. ~ By AM800's Meagan Delaurier.
