College

Queen’s reaches tentative deal with faculty

Strike won’t occur if agreement is ratified

Queen’s University and its faculty association reached a tentative agreement on Monday afternoon.

That means there won’t be a strike or lockout anytime soon.

The deal still must be ratified by both sides, but it has the support of Paul Young, the Queen’s University Faculty Association president. QUFA represents 1,200 professors and librarians.

“It’s a sufficiently good agreement,” he told the Whig-Standard newspaper. “I think it’s pretty reasonable, given the circumstances and the economic climate.”

Queen’s officials presented the union with the offer around 4 a.m. Monday, four hours after the strike deadline had passed. The union executive came to a consensus Monday afternoon.

Principal Daniel Woolf said he was “absolutely delighted” that a tentative agreement was reached. “This was a very challenging rounds of talks,” he said.

Details about the agreement aren’t yet available, but Young had previously said that pensions, pay and job security were some of the union’s concerns.