Lakehead breached contract with campus closure, arbitrator rules

An arbitrator has ruled in favour of Lakehead University Faculty Association's grievance against the institution's closure last December. Lakehead administration shut down the campus for 4 days before Christmas in a bid to reduce costs. The move reduced the annual salary of professors, which drew the ire of the faculty association. In her ruling, the arbitrator states she found that "by instituting a shutdown, it was not open to the university to unilaterally reduce the annual salary of faculty members by four days." In the arbitrator's view, the university's action constituted a breach of the collective agreement between Lakehead and the faculty association. tbnewswatch.com