Faculty members at Acadia University won substantial gains through their 14-day strike which ended on March 8, after reaching a tentative agreement on the preceding weekend. The contract was ratified on March 10 with more than 90 per cent voting in favour.

Total compensation in the four-year agreement will increase 17.7 to 21.4 per cent for professors (including lecturers), 21.9 to 23.5 per cent for instructors, and 25.1 to 34.6 per cent for librarians.

The settlement integrates the more than 300 full-time and part-time faculty members, professional librarians and instructors in one collective agreement and recognizes prior teaching experience of part-time members, giving them precedence in hiring, and moving them into better-paid positions. AUFA secured protection of ownership of intellectual property, academic freedom rights for its members, a fair discipline procedure, a reduced teaching load for new tenure-track staff, the possibility of a reduced teaching load for other full-time staff, and improvements to teaching evaluation forms and procedures.

Sick leave and maternity and family leave benefit improvements and an increase to the travel and professional development allowance would also be implemented in the new agreement.

The university also agreed to provide library privileges and network access for retired professors, and explore the possibility of a daycare facility.