Professors and students at Mount Allison University headed back to class on Monday, following a three-week strike by faculty.
Administration and the union, which represents 154 full-time and 56 part-time faculty and librarians, met with a provincial mediator on Saturday to try to reach an agreement.
The faculty association said in a statement that after 14 hours of negotiations, the two sides agreed on the terms of binding arbitration, ending the strike.
Karen Grant, vice-president academic and research at Mount Allison University, said both of the parties will present their final offers on outstanding issues and an arbitrator will chose one.
The union has said pay, pensions and benefits are at the centre of the labour dispute.
“Best of all, we would have ended the strike with a new collective agreement, or a tentative agreement to ratify, but as an association, I think we all feel much stronger as a result,” says faculty association president Loralea Michaelis.
Professors say they are pleased to be off the picket lines and back to work.
“Feels great. There was a little bit of trepidation when I came in today because prepping was a little short and I was wondering about, as far as the students, but there was great student turnout,” says Prof. Paul Griffin.
Students also expressed relief over heading back to class, but they remain anxious about issues that have yet to be settled, such as compensation for lost time.
“If we lose one week of class, if we lose two weeks of class, then why would we pay for something that’s a service we’re not receiving?” asks Melissa O’Rourke, president of the university’s student union.
Mount Allison’s senate will meet Wednesday to decide what changes will be made to the academic calendar. The university is proposing to keep reading week, but to extend the academic calendar in April.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Sarah Plowman and The Canadian Press
