Faculty, students concerned about implications of new NS legislation

Student and faculty groups warn that Nova Scotia’s new accountability legislation could strip university unions of their right to collective bargaining under some circumstances. They say that the new legislation’s “revitalization plan process” allows universities to suspend the right of unionized staff to strike, file a grievance, or sign a collective agreement while the process—which could take as long as 18 months—is underway. Catrina Brown, President of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, has called the possibility “extremely controlling” and Jonathan Williams, Executive Director of Students Nova Scotia, expressed concern that the student voice would be absent from the decision-making process. The Chronicle Herald | CAUT Release | CFS-NS Release | Students NS Release