Mount Saint Vincent University’s faculty association declares strike

Faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) in Halifax hit the picket line at noon on Monday.

The Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association (MSVUFA) represents 160 full-time faculty, librarians, and lab instructors.

Mount Saint Vincent University staff went on strike on Feb. 12, 2024. (Paul Hollingsworth/CTV News Atlantic)

The association says its president, professor Susan Brigham, informed the province and Mount Saint Vincent University’s president of the looming strike last Wednesday.

According to a Friday press release from the union, faculty voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike in December 2023.

The release says the union and the university have since failed to reach a collective agreement, and they will remain on strike until a tentative agreement is reached.

“The MSVUFA is seeking a fair and equitable settlement to ensure parity with other Nova Scotian and regional universities and to advance decolonizing and equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) efforts,” said MSVUFA spokesperson Jeff MacLeod in the release.

Brigham said MSVU has one of the lowest paid faculty in the province.

“We need to be treated fairly and equitably in terms of compensation, as well as some of the issues that we are striving for that are non-financial, and those are some of those equity and diversity issues,” she said during an interview Monday on CTV Morning Live Atlantic.

“It will take us some pushing for some of those financial and non-financial items to resolve this strike,” she added.

Mount Saint Vincent University staff went on strike on Feb. 12, 2024. (Paul Hollingsworth/CTV News Atlantic)

The university says the impact of the strike on students is its “primary concern.”

“We’ll do all we can to support our students throughout this time and minimize the effect on students’ academic experience. We will aim to ensure that students have sufficient class time to meet learning outcomes and to maintain the quality learning experience that is expected at MSVU,” reads a Monday morning statement on its website.

The university’s campus is still open, including the health office, fitness centre and child study centre and library with some services impacted.

Classes taught by full-time faculty, librarians and lab instructors will not happen during the strike, while classes taught by part-time faculty will continue.

A list of affected courses is available online.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.