Mediation extended as University of Manitoba faculty strike looms

The clock is ticking.

As faculty members head toward a possible strike, the University of Manitoba Faculty Association says mediation with the administration is being extendedfor another 24 hours as it seeks tonegotiates wages for the 2020-21 school year.

The original deadline for mediation was Saturday, but the UMFAextended it by24 hours, said Greg Flemming,the executive director of the faculty association.

That also means a potential strike will be delayed.

"The earliest a strike could begin is Tuesday morning," he said in an email to CBC News.

The union has said its members wanta modest pay increase, a more equitable salary grid and extra supports during the COVID-19 pandemic for faculty caring for children and other dependents.

However, the provincial government has told university administration to seek a 2.5 per cent reduction in labour costs from faculty, while it negotiates wages for the 2020-21 school year.

The last time the university's 1,200 professors, instructors and librarians walked off the job was in 2016, a strike that lasted about three weeks.