The Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty Association has voted in favour of a strike mandate, according to a statement from the association released Friday.

The association's 145 members — which include faculty, librarians, and lab instructors — have been without a contract since June 30. According to the statement, negotiations for a new collective agreement are "at an impasse."

Of the 93 per cent of members who cast a ballot, 88 per cent voted in favour of a strike mandate. The association says it has filed for conciliation with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, which is scheduled for Oct. 2.

A strike mandate "doesn't mean we're walking out on strike anytime soon," said Linda Mann, the association's president.

'Sends a message'

"In fact, it may actually mean that we are far less likely to go on strike because our membership really supports the mandate we have, that we had for bargaining and going into conciliation. So that sends a message to our employer, 'Gee, let's just get this settled.'"

Mann says there's growing concern within the association about recruitment and retention of faculty. She says other universities in the province have salary settlements in the range of 5.5 per cent for a three-year agreement.

Without comparable increases, she says, the school's alternative is to rely more heavily on part-time faculty, which will cause "a real erosion of quality of teaching."

"We're not actually looking for the exact same salaries, like Saint Mary's or Dalhousie or Acadia, because we're paid on salary scales. But what we're looking for is we get a salary increase that is comparable to them."

Collective agreement bargaining happens every three years, Mann said. Of the last five rounds, four have had to go to conciliation and a strike vote.

University response

According to a statement released by the school, bargaining teams met 13 times over the summer.

"While a number of items were advanced and dates for additional meetings were established, the Faculty Association opted in late August to proceed via conciliation. With conciliation talks set to begin in early October, we remain optimistic that an agreement can be reached."

The school says a strike won't happen until a number of steps have been followed through.

"In our past three rounds of bargaining with the MSVU FA, we have attained a successful outcome with the support of a conciliator."