Labour unrest grows in Nova Scotia as strikes spread across sectors

Multiple Canadian sectors are seeing labour strikes and disruptions this year.

Labour unrest continues to ripple through Nova Scotia as strikes by faculty at two universities add to a year already marked by widespread worker walkouts.

Part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University hit the picket lines Thursday, one day after part-time employees at Mount Saint Vincent University began their own strike. Both unions say negotiations with administration broke down over issues of job security, pay and benefits.

Danny Cavanagh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, says the frustration among workers isn’t limited to post-secondary education.

“Workers are really struggling,” he said. “The price for housing, groceries, gas – everything is going up, but their pay isn’t keeping pace with inflation.”

It’s not just universities feeling the strain. In the last year, Canada Post workers have gone on strike, while construction workers in Cape Breton and Air Canada employees have also walked off the job.

Labour lawyer Kelly VanBuskirk says the pattern of unrest reflects growing anxiety about economic uncertainty and the erosion of real wages.

“We’re seeing this lagging holdover from work-from-home expectations,” said VanBurskirk. “Secondly, inflation is eating away at spending power, and federal spending restraint trickling down through the economy. All of it spirals toward unrest.”

VanBuskirk says more than 50 major collective agreements have expired in Canada this year alone, and each expiry opens the door for possible strike action.

Cavanagh says many part-time university faculty members face precarious employment, working term-to-term without benefits or long-term stability.

“People don’t realize most of these folks are contract workers,” he said. “They might only have a four-month contract, and yet they’re watching management making six-figure salaries.”

Experts say while shorter-term collective agreements could help workers keep pace with inflation, they would also mean more frequent and tense rounds of bargaining.

VanBuskirk says what’s unfolding in Nova Scotia reflects a broader national trend.

“We’re in a moment of recalibration,” he said. “Workers are testing their leverage, and employers are trying to maintain stability.”

Cavanagh believes the only way forward is through improved labour standards and greater respect for workers’ concerns.

“We need to start respecting workers,” he said. “End precarious work. Treat people fairly. That’s the only way to stop this cycle.”

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