Acadia University faculty members took to the picket lines Oct. 15 after the university and the Acadia University Faculty Association failed to reach a tentative contract agreement before a union-imposed deadline. Classes have been suspended but the campus remains open.

The 300 professors, instructors and librarians represented by the faculty association voted 84 per cent earlier this month to take job action.

Union members have been without a contract since June and a provincially-appointed conciliator concluded in September that further negotiations between the union and the university administration were pointless.

Faculty association president Peter Williams contends the university’s current offer will reduce the faculty complement between nine and 17 percent, keep the salary grid significantly below regional and national averages and fail to provide benefits and equity provisions that are the norm across Canada. Fair compensation for part-time faculty is also a contentious point.

“We are ready to resume negotiations at any time,” Williams said. “We expect the administration to come back to the table . . . in a timely fashion to minimize the disruption to students and other members of the university community.”

AUFA was last on strike for 15 days in 2004 before reaching a tentative agreement with the university.