Cape Breton University faculty members walk off the job over wages
For the first time in more than two decades, there are picket lines in front of Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S.
Members of the Cape Breton University Faculty Association walked off the job Friday morning, citing wages as the reason for the strike.
Faculty have been offered an eight per cent increase over three years, but are looking for 14 per cent over two years.
“I’m disappointed,” said faculty member Scott Moir. “I think this could have been done a long time ago. I feel sorry for our students who are put in this position, and there are solutions that are within reach.”
Most classes were cancelled at CBU Friday, though some did go ahead with staff represented by a different union.
“It’s actually a hard time for us,” said student Jeril Joseph Philip. “All of my classes are cancelled.”
“I would like to learn and I don’t know how long this will take,” said student Adriana Navarro.
The Alumni Association is also concerned, saying students that are focused on their studies don't need the increased stress and uncertainty of a strike.
“It's going to have a significant impact on their potential studies. If you don't have access to your professors, or if you can't ask questions about your courses, we might see some educational outcomes impacted,” said CBU Alumni Association President Brandon Ellis.
“Our faculty do so many great things, so I hope they're treated fairly, but I don't want to see tuition or fees increase for the students.”
“We are just pressing both sides to come together to reach an agreement,” said CBU Student Union President Damanpreet Singh.
Meanwhile, the university says its best offer is on the table.
“Everything comes down, at this point, to money -- that's the only thing left on the table. And I think that that's probably something that can be resolved,” said Rod Nicholls, a member of the university’s bargaining team.
“If it was a complicated, tricky issue then you might have to have a few weeks, but this is money.”
The last time there was a faculty strike at CBU was in 2000. It was a long dispute that lasted through much of the winter semester.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.