NSCC faculty, support workers vote to strike; college says "business as usual" for now

In electronic balloting held across the province Tuesday, some 91 per cent of faculty members voted 93 per cent in favour of the walkout, according to the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, which represents the workers.

Some 96 per cent of professional support employees voted 90 per cent in favour of joining the job action.

The NSTU represents more than 760 faculty members and 165 professional support members at NSCC campuses.

A spokesperson for the college says the hopes a strike can be averted but says the college has plans in place in case there is a strike. “First of all, we have to keep in mind that a vote to strike doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be a strike and our main focus right now is to try and get a settlement so that we don’t get to that point,” said Gina Brown, director of marketing and communications with the NSCC, “but we certainly do have contingency plans in place in the event of a strike and we will communicate those to the students.”

For now, she said, “It’s business as usual…We’ll continue to keep them (students) updated as soon as anything changes.”

Said Alexis Allen, president of the NSTU, “Members of the two community college bargaining units have sent a strong message to the Department of Education. Since talks broke down in June we have engaged in continuing discussions with the college and Department of Education. “However, there is still no financial commitment from the Department of Education to support an economic increase in 2009 or to have community college members realize the same benefits that the Department of Education has agreed to provide public school teachers.”

Under the Trade Union Act, the faculty and professional support bargaining units may take strike action following 48 hours notice to the minister of labour and workforce development.

Community college members have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2008.

The Nova Scotia Community College has 13 campuses and about 26,000 learners, including full-time and part-time students.