The Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia and the Association générale des étudiants del'Université Sainte-Anne (AGEUSA) stands in solidarity with the Association des professeurs, professeures et bibliothécaires de l'Université Sainte-Anne (APPBUSA) who began a strike on March 4, 2022 after the Sainte-Anne administration failed to negotiate fairly in collective bargaining. APPBUSA have explained they are on strike for “fair and equitable working conditions for professors and librarians, and a real and substantial improvement in relations between the administration and our members.”

Students and workers are stronger together. Better working conditions for faculty and staff mean better learning conditions for students. Transparency and better communication from the administration benefits everyone at the university. Just recently, the administration made the sudden decision to close the cafeteria, which has unexpectedly left students without adequate means to prepare meals. Without open communication and proper supports, decisions like this make the lives of students, faculty, and staff more difficult and further erodes trust in the university administrators.

It is up to the Université Sainte-Anne administration to end this strike by showing inclusive and collaborative leadership and negotiating fairly with faculty and staff. APPBUSA is fighting for a forward-looking university meaning that going forward, the administration must communicate openly with the entire university community about important issues and put the wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff at the forefront of their decisions.

The province can support faculty, staff, and students, and the university as a whole by committing to increasing public funding for post-secondary institutions. Decreased government funding as a proportion of operating funds in the post-secondary education sector has meant that costs have been increasingly downloaded onto students and faculty and staff workloads have increased dramatically while salaries have not. The province needs to do its part to ensure better and fairer conditions for students and workers at our post-secondary institutions.

Students and workers united!

In solidarity,

Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia and
Association générale des étudiants de l'Université Sainte-Anne (Local 69)