U of M, faculty will try mediation to avoid Nov. 1 strike

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2016 (2734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Manitoba and its faculty will begin mediation Thursday and continue through the weekend to try to avoid a Nov. 1 strike.

That same day, the U of M Students Union will meet in the evening to gather from its council members the names of as many professors as possible who intend to cross picket lines.

“I’ve encouraged them to ask the professors directly to see if they’ll participate in the strike, or be crossing the lines,” UMSU president Tanjit Nagra said Tuesday. “We will be working on that in conjunction with the registrar’s office.”

From what students have already told her, Nagra said in an interview, “A lot of engineering professors would be crossing the lines.”

The U of M Faculty Association will set up picket lines at 7 a.m. next Tuesday if there is no agreement on a new deal. The last collective agreement expired March 31.

“Given the lack of movement on our priorities over the long process of negotiation since May, and after the U of M withdrew its most recent salary proposal last Friday, we offered mediation, and the U of M has accepted,” UMFA president Prof. Mark Hudson said Tuesday.

“At this point — given an 86 per cent strike mandate from our members — there will be picket lines up at U of M on Nov. 1 unless the administration starts taking this process seriously,” Hudson said.

University communications manager John Danakas said it is a “clear indication of good faith” that the U of M immediately agreed to the union’s mediation proposal.

“We didn’t withdraw the salary offer — it was rejected,” Danakas said. “In (UMFA’s) rejecting that offer, that offer is now off the table. We need to work with the mediator to reach an agreement.”

UMFA wants an overall 6.9 per cent increase for one year, along with improved benefits and a greater say in workload and governance for its professors, librarians and instructors.

The university last offered a seven per cent increase in base pay over four years and some improvements to benefits. For about one-third of younger professors eligible for incremental increases, the total package would amount to 17.5 per cent over four years.

“It’s not sounding as though an agreement will be met,” Nagra said. While the university has assured students it would not write off the academic year regardless how long a strike lasted, Nagra said students are worried.

“It could delay the exam period, It could delay the winter term. I worry about international students who have study permits,” she said.

They worry about picket lines, she said: “They’re worried about what a professor might say to them.”

UMFA members will be in University Centre this week to talk with students and others on campus about what’s at stake, Hudson said.

The university has said that it will continue to operate classes on a case-by-case basis.

Danakas said the university offered a one-year deal in May to try to give the two sides more time to bargain, but that was rejected.

“The university has tried from the beginning of the process to avoid the kind of scenario we now find ourselves in, bargaining at the 11th hour,” he said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca