The Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia stands in solidarity with the Cape Breton University Faculty Association (CBUFA) who began a strike on Friday January 27, 2023. We recognize that this is a challenging and stressful time for students and we extend our support also to our members at CBU. 

CBU Faculty are fighting for a fair deal and for the respect that they and their collective agreement deserve from the CBU administration. There were more grievances at CBU in 2022 than at any other university in Canada, an indication of how extensive the issues are that CBU Faculty are facing, and of how the administration has disregarded the existing collective agreement. In addition, the President of CBU saw a salary increase of 18% during the pandemic and the university posted a $10.2M surplus in 2021, meaning CBU can absolutely afford to meet Faculty’s demands for better benefits and a salary that meets the rising cost of living.

We recognize that a Faculty strike is disruptive for students, but we know that the solution to minimizing disruption is for the employer to negotiate and satisfy the workers’ demands. Students and faculty both want to be back in the classroom – it is up to the CBU administration to end this strike quickly by negotiating fairly and respectfully with Faculty. All students benefit from solidarity with workers – better working conditions for faculty mean better learning conditions for students. 

CBUFA published a letter to CBU students in which they explain the goals and reasons for the strike: “The CBU administration continues to mistreat international students, mismanage growth, and contribute to community-wide problems, while amassing enormous profits, collecting handsome raises, and chiseling away at the salaries of the people who provide the education by denying them modest cost of living increases. Their for-profit approach to education destabilizes what could be a bright future for the university, the community, and for you.”

We encourage our members at CBU and across Nova Scotia to support CBUFA and show solidarity by signing their letter of support (see cbufa.ca/student-letter-of-support) to urge the CBU administration to resume negotiations for a fair deal for Faculty.

Students and workers united! 

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In solidarity,

Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia

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