No new talks have been scheduled between Mount Allison University and its faculty, who walked off the job and hit the picket line Monday morning.
Talks between the administration and faculty union failed to produce a resolution before the midnight strike deadline.
“We did put forward a proposal on Sunday night that was substantively different from previous proposals that the faculty association has seen and we would very much like to receive a response back from the faculty association,” says Karen Grant, vice-president of academics and research at Mount Allison University.
“They did make a movement on one issue, but not all of the issues, and we needed to see movement on all of the issues and we didn’t see that,” says Loralea Michaels, president of the Mount Allison Faculty Association.
Salary, pension, benefits and workload continue to be the main sticking points in the dispute.
Similar issues are also prolonging a labour dispute at the University of New Brunswick, where staff have been on strike since Jan. 13.
The province appointed a mediator on Monday to try to find common ground, but the executive director of the New Brunswick Student Alliance says the problem begins with the province and a lack of funding.
“I think it points to the need for a bigger discussion about post-secondary and a bigger discussion about the role of government in funding post-secondary,” says Pat Joyce.
With professors on strike at both Mount Allison and UNB, students are being encouraged to do what they can to keep up with their courses on their own.
“There’s independent study sessions that are being held on campus today so students are able to learn a little bit more about how to keep up with your studies when you might not have that typical classroom setting,” says Mount Allison Student Union President Melissa O’Rourke.
No meetings are currently planned at Mount Allison but UNB and its faculty are heading back to the bargaining table Wednesday.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jonathan MacInnis
