Labour Relations Update

To: Employees at the Agricultural Campus

From: Jasmine Walsh, Acting Assistant Vice-President, Human Resources

December 11, 2012

Labour Relations update

As was communicated to you on November 28, we have been informed by the Labour Board that our hearing dates are set for March 19 - 21 and April 30 - May 2, 2013.

Since these dates are later than we anticipated, Dalhousie has decided to initiate discussions in January 2013 with the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) and Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU). Dalhousie’s goal in these discussions will be to reach agreement with DFA and NSGEU to merge faculty members, who are currently in the EDC bargaining unit at the Agricultural Campus, into the DFA bargaining unit.

While we intended to address the bargaining unit status of both faculty and staff at the Agricultural Campus, we believe that there is informal support from all parties involved to have faculty members, who are presently in the EDC bargaining unit, join the DFA.

We are hopeful that the Labour Board will reach a decision soon after the hearing dates end in May regarding the bargaining units that represent staff. We will continue to provide you updates about this information as it becomes available.

Dalhousie’s position remains the same. The university wants employees (both faculty and staff) at the Agricultural Campus to be in the same bargaining units as the rest of our campuses. We believe this is in the best interest of employees and the university because it creates consistency and fairness throughout our workplace within bargaining units that have had longstanding, effective relationships with Dalhousie University. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please send them to hr@dal.ca

Thank you.