Nipissing University faculty have been on strike since Nov. 2 demanding better wages, and better management and accountability with university governance. Classes have been cancelled for more than two weeks.
According to a statement released on Nov. 16 by the Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA), it invited administration and the university president, Michael DeGagne, to return to the bargaining table. Both parties have not been at the negotiation table since the beginning of this month.
One hundred and seventy full-time faculty and more than 300 part-time lecturers have been on the picket lines for almost three weeks. NUFA began negotiating with the university since May.
According to Ian Hall, the president of the Nipissing University Student Union (NUSU), there are no talks currently scheduled.
“A mediator from Toronto will only come up when new offers and a real chance of making a deal are on the table,” Hall said.
Hall said he not only wants students to get back to class, but to ensure professors are paid reasonably and “whatever deal is reached doesn’t force the university to cut into student services or raise student fees and tuition.”
A group of at least eight students organized a sit-in protest in the president’s office in support of striking faculty.
Lauren Edwards, a fifth-year history masters student at Nipissing, was among the students who protested.
“[DeGagne] has said multiple times that he can’t answer the question of how [students] will be reimbursed or compensated because he doesn’t know how long the strike is going to last,” Edwards said.
She said some students have left campus due to the length of the strike. She added the sit-in group is prepared to protest for as long as it takes for a deal to be reached.
According to Hall, NUSU is devising a student-driven plan to push both parties to return to the table and come to an agreement.
