The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) president, Divya Sharma, told students that she is expecting the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) to strike in March.

“We’re anticipating early March,” said Sharma at the Feb. 13 UMSU board of directors meeting at the Bannatyne campus. She later clarified that she anticipates the faculty strike to start in the first week of March.

The comments were made following a question from Black students’ representative Damilola Ojo on when a strike decision may be announced amid negotiations between UMFA and the university.

Ojo followed up by asking whether the strike announcement, or the strike itself, will likely happen in early March. Sharma responded that the strike will “likely happen early March. They’ll announce it before they do it.”

The faculty association is currently negotiating a new collective agreement with the university. The previous agreement was in effect from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024.

UMFA president Erik Thomson previously indicated that the faculty association has been in active negotiations with the university’s administration over a new contract since October 2024, but that the administration had “reached the end of the rope” on certain issues.

Members of UMFA authorized a strike on Feb. 7.

The university presented a revised offer to UMFA on Feb. 19, with meetings between both parties scheduled for March 3 and 4 to continue negotiations, according to the university’s website.