(Tuesday, July 29, 2025 – Halifax, NS) – Conciliation Officer Rick Rose has filed his “no board report” with the Minister of Labour, indicating a bargaining impasse and triggering a 14-day countdown before legal job action can take place between Dalhousie Board of Governors and Dalhousie Faculty Association. “Our union has no intention of initiating a strike in August,” says DFA President David Westwood. “If there is any labour disruption before the start of the fall semester, it will have been because Dalhousie’s Board of Governors chose to lock out our professors, instructors, professional counsellors and librarians.”
Now that the conciliator has filed his report, a 14-day countdown begins before either side could initiate labour action, subject to providing a minimum of 48 hours’ notice. “I reached out to Dalhousie President Kim Brooks yesterday requesting a face-to-face conversation to ensure that the administration is fully aware of the serious consequences of a lockout leading into the fall semester. At this point the question is ‘What will it take to reach an agreement?’,” notes Westwood. “We are prepared to negotiate, and I hope that the Board understands that they will need to improve their offer to get a deal done. While I hope that the Board does not intend to actually lock out our members, their posturing so far has suggested that they wanted to be in precisely this position at this point in time.”
The two sides are scheduled for one last-minute conciliation session on August 11. If no tentative agreement is reached, the Board could lockout all members of the faculty association on August 12. This includes almost 1000 professors, instructors, librarians and professional counsellors. The current agreement between DFA and the Dalhousie Board of Governors expired June 30, 2025. Negotiations began the last week of May, and after only four bargaining meetings, the Board of Governors filed for conciliation on June 2. One more bargaining meeting was held June 20, and then Rick Rose was appointed as the conciliation officer on June 23, 2025. Conciliation meetings were held July 9, 15 and 16, 2025. The Board walked away from conciliation prematurely. Earlier this month, 85.5% of the DFA membership participated in a strike vote. Of those, an overwhelming 91.2% voted in favour of going on strike if an acceptable deal cannot be reached.
There are many outstanding issues on the table that have yet to be agreed. They include: wages that account for cost-of-living increases and are on par with the pattern in the sector, preventing full-time jobs from becoming precarious sessional contracts; ending the practice of using limited-term contracts for continuing teaching needs; expanding access to childcare and ensuring workloads are fair and reasonable.
DFA’s Bargaining Bulletins can be found here.
About DFA
The DFA is the certified bargaining agent for almost 1,000 professors, instructors, librarians and professional counsellors at Dalhousie University. As a volunteer-based organization, we advocate for the rights of our members and work to protect and advance the academic integrity of the University.
To arrange an interview with DFA President David Westwood: email DFA Communications Officer Catherine.Wall@dal.ca