The president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association said he has mixed emotions after receiving a new proposal from the university that he said still falls short but will share with members.
DFA had two meetings planned to communicate the new offer.
In an interview with our newsroom, Thursday, Dave Westwood said he is excited they can now communicate with the public, after a blackout period, but the bad news is, they still do not have a deal, and he said the university is up to its old tactics.
“Releasing statements to the media and delaying progress by doing so and confusing and misleading students, which is unhelpful,” said Westwood.
The university extended the offer to the union Wednesday evening after 17 hours of conciliation talks Monday and Tuesday, weeks into a lockout of members.
Westwood said, there is progress being made, but specifically he was taking issue with the return-to-work protocol, which is a huge challenge considering the lockout began two weeks before the term began.
“People are absolutely livid and furious about the return-to-work problem. They were still very, very bitter about the lockout itself,” said Westwood.
“The lockout isn’t just a matter of respect and dignity; the lockout took away two weeks of preparation time that we need.”
Members were given email access back Wednesday evening, but Westwood only laughed at that.
“I don’t really understand the message of saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to restore your email but don’t use it.’ That’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Westwood.
Rally
The student union held a rally Wednesday afternoon on campus who are concerned about tuition still being expected, despite having no classes.
President Maren Mealey says students are frustrated, uncertain and asking for a reduction in pay.
“As the Dalhousie student union, we are asking that we get a tuition reduction that is proportion to the amount of class time missed,” says Mealey.
Dalhousie faculty have been locked out since August 20.
