The Athletic Centre at Mount Allison University. (Courtesy of Mount Allison University)

Mount Allison University has agreed to a wage increase of 2.5 per cent over three years for teaching staff, even though it considers that to be too high.

The university wanted to offer faculty a maximum of two per cent.

Tony Frost, the university's spokesman, said Tuesday that the university decided to accept the conciliation board's recommendation in order to spare students the disruption of extended negotiations or possibly a strike.

"In order to protect students from the stress, anxiety, and possible serious dislocation and disruption of a process of protracted negotiations involving a strike vote, a countdown toward the strike date, the uncertainty around possible job action, and the impact of possible job action, the university agrees to be bound by the recommendations made by the majority of the board's members," Frost said in a release.

"The university has made this decision despite supporting Eric Durnford's dissenting opinion that the percentage scale increase of 2.5 per cent every year for three years is too high."

The three-person conciliation board, appointed by the provincial government, released its report on Jan. 27 and offered a series of recommendations on a new contract for the university's 210 academic staff members.

Led by chairman James Oakley, the board included Chris Ferns, the nominee from the Mount Allison Faculty Association, and Durnford, the university's nominee.

The board agreed on most elements of a possible contract except for the wage increase.

Oakley and Ferns agreed the staff teaching at the small university located in Sackville should receive a three-year contract with 2.5 per cent wage increases in each year.

Durnford, however, said that proposal was too rich, pointing to the financial problems enveloping the rest of New Brunswick.

Instead, he recommended the staff receive two per cent wage increases in each of the next three years.

The New Brunswick government is is forecasting an $820-million deficit and Finance Minister Blaine Higgs has asked all government departments to begin cutting their budgets and prepare for another wave of austerity when the next budget is released in March.

Finance Minister Blaine Higgs has asked all government departments to begin cutting their budgets and prepare for another wave of austerity when the next budget is released in March.

"The economic climate in New Brunswick is dire and a number of top national and local economists and others who have assessed New Brunswick's current financial situation have described it variously as 'bankrupt,' 'stagnating,' and 'failing,' and have called for drastic measures, including significant government expenditure cuts and tax increases," Durnford said in his dissenting opinion.

"That is the true economic climate which will see pay freezes, and modest increases, if any, for employees in the public sector and quasi-public sector."

The university was proposing a three-year deal that would see wage increases of 1.7 per cent, 1.75 per cent and 1.85 per cent. Meanwhile, the university's faculty association was pushing in its last contract proposal for increases of 4.9 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 4.2 per cent.

Durnford's analysis showed under the university's final offer a professor who is in the second lowest pay bracket would see their wage go from $117,168 to $121,861.

If the conciliation board's proposed pay increases are implemented, Durnford said, then Mount Allison's staff would have higher wage increases than their counterparts at the University of New Brunswick.

There were other components of the conciliation report that all three individuals did agree on.

Childcare leave is recommended to be extended to 35 weeks from 30 weeks and staff members will get 95 per cent of their salary in that time.

The professional development reimbursement will rise to 4.25 per cent from four per cent and the stipend offered to part-time staff would be increased.