A 16-day strike by academic staff at the University of Prince Edward Island is over, with both sides agreeing April 5 to a tentative agreement that was ratified later the same day by a 98 per cent majority.

“We’re delighted with the outcome,” said Wayne Peters, president of the UPEI faculty association. “The support and solidarity of our members on the picket lines allowed us to reach an agreement that achieved our principal objectives.”

According to Peters, these include UPEI academic staff reaching salary parity with colleagues at appropriate comparator universities in the Maritimes, introduction of a workload of three courses one semester and two the next, and preservation of full benefit entitlement for retirees.

Peters expressed appreciation for the hard work of the negotiating committee, the considerable assistance from CAUT’s assistant executive director Neil Tudiver, the financial assistance and flying pickets from the CAUT Defence Fund and the messages of moral and financial support from academic staff associations across the country.

“The last days were a bit of a roller coaster ride as we had to fight back against threats that the government would legislate us back to work or would impose binding arbitration,” Peters said.

“We’re proud that we held firm for a negotiated settlement and achieved one — a good one.”