Conciliation ends at StFX, possibility of a strike looms
February 4, 2010 10:55 AM
The second round of conciliation talks between the StFX Association of University Teachers and the university administration broke down at 4:30 a.m. on Friday, January 29.
According to representatives from StFXAUT, talks broke down after the administration tabled a ‘final offer’ that was seen as inadequate by the union’s negotiators.
Current president of the union, Dr David Lynes, confirms that the issue of wage parity continues to be the most contentious sticking point in the negotiations.
One particular group of workers whose wages the union continues to be concerned with is that of lab instructors.
Lynes says that the administration’s final offer for lab instructors was a step in the right direction but didn’t go far enough.
“There was some movement on [the pay of lab instructors] but not nearly what we were hoping for,” he says.
An anonymous source told the Xaverian Weekly that the union is also resisting an attempt by the administration to augment the workload of some department chairs, a move that some StFXAUT members believe would be damaging to smaller faculties and programs.
Conciliation having ended, rumours of a looming strike are popping up across campus. When asked about the likelihood of a strike, Lynes was tight-lipped.
“I can’t say,” was his reply.
He did note, however, that StFXAUT sent a letter to the administration on Monday, February 1 declaring that the union was still interested in negotiating.
The union will be in a legal position to strike two weeks after the conciliator submits his report to the provincial labour minister.
As of Tuesday night, that report had not been submitted, but Lynes says that there is reason to believe this will occur by the end of this week.
StFXAUT held a union meeting on Tuesday, February 2 to inform members of the conditions that brought conciliation to an end.
“I think the gap is massively reduced from where it was as a result of conciliation,” Dr Bill Marshall, a biology professor, says of the update.
Despite the lack of success during conciliation, Lynes argues that the StFXAUT membership is still supportive of the union executive’s position in the negotiations.
“Most people support what’s happening, support the executive, and that was indicated by the strike authorization vote,” he says. “We have no reason to believe that that support has declined in any way.”
At the time of print, the administration had not responded to the Xaverian Weekly’s request for an update from their perspective.
