Mount Allison students returning to classes Monday after tentative agreements end six-day strike

Mount Allison University and its full and part-time professors and librarians have reached tentative agreements ending the six-day strike that began last Monday.

Both sides announced the agreements today after a marathon bargaining session that lasted well into the early morning hours.

The negotiated settlements mean that more than 200 full and part-time faculty and librarians will begin returning to their campus offices and labs today.

Classes will re-start on Monday, Feb. 10.

A news release from the Mount Allison Faculty Association (MAFA) says its members will vote on the tentative agreements after they learn the details early next week.

Until then, no information will be released about what’s in the agreements covering 150 full-time professors and librarians and about 60 part-time professors.

MAFA says the issues in dispute included pay and job security for part-time professors, accommodations for faculty and librarians with disabilities and, academic workload.

“This was a challenging round of negotiations,” MAFA president Matt Litvak is quoted as saying in the release, “but our striking members stayed strong and united in their determination to achieve a settlement at the bargaining table.”

Bruce Wark worked in broadcasting and journalism education for more than 35 years. He was at CBC Radio for nearly 20 years as senior editor of network programs such as The World at Six and World Report.  He currently writes for The New Wark Times where this story first appeared.

This story was first published by The New Wark Times.