Faculty at the University of Northern British Columbia could be on the picket line as soon as Thursday morning.
The UNBC Faculty Association issued 72 hours strike notice on Monday morning, "despite ongoing negotiations and mediation at the bargaining table," UNBC administration said in a posting.
It said a new offer was tabled on Monday morning but declined to provide details until the Faculty Association bargaining team has reviewed the proposal and responded. The offer expires on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Should a strike go ahead, it is expected that pickets will be up at the Prince George campus, the Terrace campus, and at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre.
"The University will continue to update students and staff regarding the latest developments; official decisions regarding the status of classes will come from UNBC," administration said.
In early October, faculty voted 83 per cent to give the bargaining committee authority to issue strike notice. Less than a week later, UNBC administration applied to the Labour Relations Board for mediation, delaying the chance for a strike by 20 days.
Faculty have been working at UNBC without a contract since June 30. At the end of 2015, the association agreed to a five-year deal backdated to July 1, 2014, which provided a 10-per-cent wage increase over the life of the deal.
The contract was the culmination of a lengthy dispute that included mediation, a two-week strike in March 2015 and finally binding arbitration through a process only permitted for first collective agreements.
