There were no negotiations at the University of New Brunswick on Thursday, despite a looming strike deadline.

Faculty at UNB are poised to trade their labs and lectures for the picket line on Monday.

They are looking for wages comparable to those paid at other mid-sized schools, including Dalhousie University in Halifax.

“They talk about competitive salaries when they talk about our president, but somehow they don’t seem to recognize the same issues when it comes to us,” says Miriam Jones of the Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers.

“But the fact of the matter is, it’s a national and international hiring pool.”

School administration says the association’s wage demands are excessive. UNB has offered more than nine per cent over four years, and says the more than 500 professors are looking for 25 per cent.

“We need to be fair to our faculty in the wages that we pay them, for sure. We need to be fair to taxpayers and to students and their parents who fund their education,” says Peter MacDougall, a spokesperson for the university.

With a strike looming and no talks today, students’ concerns are growing.

“Well, it could be like another week off or so, but it could be worse than that. It could screw up our year for learning,” says student Cory Phinney.

“If they compact everything it’d be harder to learn everything, and another thing is, if it goes all term, it takes me another semester to graduate, which is a setback, obviously,” says student Michaela Toner.

A final round of negotiations is scheduled for Friday but, should they fail, the faculty association says they would be available 24 hours a day all weekend.

Teachers say their demands go beyond salaries and they feel UNB is slipping.

“They’re not replacing people when they retire, programs are languishing and being run by one or two people, more and more people are being hired on term contracts or part-time contracts. The administration is not investing in this institution,” says Jones.

UNB recently turned 225 years old. The faculty association has been around since 1956 and a recognized trade union since 1979.

In 35 years, there has never been a teacher’s strike at UNB and both sides say they are hoping to preserve that perfect record.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell