Faculty at Cape Breton University go on strike to back demands for higher wages
Some faculty members at Cape Breton University have walked off the job.
Their strike started Friday, with the faculty's union saying the administration has disrespected it at every turn, leading to a large number of labour grievances.
The union issued a statement saying it is seeking pay raises to deal with the soaring cost of living, but it is also calling for changes to how the university is dealing with a rapidly growing population of international students.
The Cape Breton University Faculty Association represents librarians, lab instructors, writing centre advisers, archivists, research chairs and nursing practice educators.
The administration issued a statement assuring students that no Canadian university has ever lost a term to strike, though it confirmed that most classes have been cancelled.
The university's latest wage proposal offers an an increase of eight per cent over the next three years, in addition to existing annual step increases. The administration says the union is seeking a 14 per cent raise over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the union says the university is dealing with more grievances than any other university in Canada
Faculty members voted 92 per cent in favour of a strike in September.
In October, the Association of Atlantic Universities issued a report saying that as of this fall, nearly 4,000 international students were enrolled at Cape Breton University out of about 5,900 total students.
That was up from about 2,400 international students in 2021, when the school had about 4,200 students.
In 2017, the university had fewer than 900 international students among a student body of about 2,600.
Last month, the university's administration said it was limiting enrolment to a popular business program following concerns the school is not equipped to handle the recent influx of international students.
The university has limited admissions to its two-year post-baccalaureate diploma program starting May 2023.
Based in Sydney, N.S., the university in the fall semester held classes for that program at the downtown Cineplex cinemas -- about nine kilometres from campus -- because of a lack of teaching space. All but two of the 2,681 people enrolled in the post-baccalaureate program are international students, and 85 per cent of those foreign students are from India.
The recent spike in international enrolment follows targeted recruitment in India that began in 2018.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.