Strikers at SMU Photo: Jacob Moore/Acadia Broadcasting
Part-time instructors at Dalhousie University have voted to ratify a new collective agreement that brings major improvements to wages and job security, while similar strikes continue at Saint Mary’s and Mount Saint Vincent universities.
Members of CUPE 3912 approved the new deal on October 30, following a tentative agreement reached earlier this month. The union represents more than 4,000 academic workers across the three Halifax universities, including part-time faculty, teaching assistants, and markers.
“We are proud of what we have achieved for academic workers at Dalhousie University, and for the entire Dalhousie community,” said CUPE 3912 president Lauren McKenzie. “When workers win at the bargaining table, everybody wins.”
The new contract delivers significant wage increases, stronger job security provisions, and new support for professional development. It also eliminates the “marker/demonstrator” job category starting in the 2026–27 academic year — a change the union says was long overdue.
“The marker/demonstrator job category was being used to devalue the labour of academic workers, as well as undermining other members of our union,” said Larissa Atkison, CUPE 3912 vice-president and a part-time instructor at Dalhousie. “This change is an important win.”
CUPE 3912 says markers and demonstrators had been doing teaching assistant work but were paid at much lower rates.
While Dalhousie’s part-time instructors have secured a deal, union members at Saint Mary’s University and Mount Saint Vincent University remain on strike, with job security and fair pay continuing to be key sticking points.
“Our employers use us to promote their institutions to current and prospective students, while trying to push workers further into precarity and financial insecurity,” McKenzie said. “This deal with Dal represents a step towards protecting high-quality university education in this province. We’re not just fighting for workers; we’re fighting for Nova Scotia. At SMU and at The Mount, this fight continues.”
