Faculty at St. Thomas University in Fredericton have rejected the administration's final contract offer.

The vote conducted Monday and Tuesday by the province's Labour and Employment Board saw full-time faculty members reject the deal by a count of 74-28.

Part-time faculty voted against it by a margin of 31-18.

The faculty union is calling for both sides to return to negotiations. The administration has not yet said if it's willing to do that.

The union has been asking for increased wages, more office space and a reduced workload.

The offer that was voted down included a pay increase of three per cent annually for two years and 3.5 per cent in the third year.

The faculty association recommended its members reject the deal.

"It is our view that between our last position and the employer's latest offer, which was just rejected, there is a deal to be done," said Suzanne Dudziak, president of the Faculty Association of the University of St. Thomas. "So let's get it done and stop wasting time on forced approaches that won't work."

University spokesman Jeffrey Carleton said the administration is currently considering its next step.

The school administration had previously stated that the now rejected deal would be its final offer to the professors. But according to a letter posted on the university's website by president Michael Higgins, the administration will be prepared to return to the negotiating table on Wednesday.

A report filed by an external mediator last week suggested that wages were where the largest gap remained between the two sides.

The mediator recommended that a wage deal be based on the offer put forward by the administration on Dec. 14 — before the lockout that later became a strike.

No classes since December

"We have to decide now — sit down and look at the vote, we have to sit and look at the mediator's report and make sure we understand what our position is to go back and sit down and have discussions with the faculty association," Carleton said. "But we also need to have some signs from them that the negotiations will be meaningful and productive and it just won't be one-sided."

The university locked out its faculty on Dec. 27 but the lockout was lifted on Jan. 21. The union went on strike on Jan. 9.

Classes never resumed after the school's 2,500 students left for holidays in December.

Students are upset that the faculty has voted against the offer, said Colin Banks, president of the university's student union.

"We're confused, we're upset and we're worried about what is going to happen with our academic semester and what's going to happen with our university," Banks said.

Banks said the student union plans to launch class-action lawsuits against the faculty association and the university in a bid to seek compensation for tuition, books and rent.

"The general damage portion of our claim would be for the stress, inconvenience, loss of opportunity and amenities that students have endured as a result of this," Banks said.

With files from the Canadian Press