Strike begins at U of M after faculty union, university fail to agree on new contract

Faculty at the University of Manitoba hit the picket lines Tuesday morning after contract negotiations reached an impasse.

About two dozen people were at the main entrance of the university on Chancellor Matheson Road just before 8 a.m., blocking traffic intermittently.

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association, the union for more than 1,000 U of M staff, has been fighting for higher wages for its members, arguing that low wages are causing persistent retention and recruitment problems.

The university ranks second to last out of the 15 research-based institutions in terms of salary.

The average salary among U of M teaching staff, including deans, was$136,925 in 2020-21, Statistics Canada says.

When excluding teaching staff in the medical and dental faculties,that figure dropped to $131,725.

Teaching salaries in the lowest 10th percentile were about $94,150, meaning only 10 per cent of salaries are below that figure, according to Statistics Canada.

The university's 2020 public compensation disclosure reportlists several salaries for teaching staff, with some professors in the faculty of medicine making more than $300,000.

Union says province is meddling

The union has also called on the province to adandon itswage mandate, which it says has prevented successful negotiations with university administration.

"We just feel like the government is in their back pocket or in that room with them, and that's not appropriate. The university is to be independent from the government," UMFA president Orvie Dingwall said Tuesday.

Job action is happening outside the university and virtually due to the pandemic, Dingwall said.

She said the virtual strike action will involve calling MLAs and the new premier.

U of M president Michael Benarroch said he thought the university made a strong offer, whichincluded changes to the salary structure to help address retention and recruitment issues.

A statement givinga detailed breakdown of its offeron the university's website says the two year agreementincluded a general salary increase of 1.25 per centin the first year, anda general salary increase of 1.5 per centin the second year.

The offer also includes changes in the salary structure, amounting to an average increase of 9.5 per cent over two years, the university said.

Overall, the deal represented on average of about 5.9 per cent in new money, with other increases already included in the current collective agreement, Benarrochsaid.

"But you know, I have a feeling at the end of the day, we just really didn't put enough or we didn't have enough money to be able to put on the table to convince UMFA that this was what they needed at the current time," he said.

Benarroch said the province has always provided mandates for salaries at the university and has the right to do that. He said the university has never gone against those mandates historically.

"We've never done that as a university. We've always followed government mandates. We've always talked to government about the salaries that we're going to offer and it's always been, you know, an agreed upon number," he said.

The president of UMFA wouldn't say specifically what they would consider a reasonable salary offer, but said they are happy to come to the bargaining table.

"We bargain in good faith and really just with the end goal of quality education for students," Dingwall said.

Members of the union and their supporters picketed Tuesday afternoon outsidethe Manitoba legislatureasHeather Stefansonwas beingsworn in as premier.

When asked afterward if her government would take action to end the strike, Stefanson said she would take the advice of cabinet but wanted to "respect the process" and allow the two sides to settle the dispute on their own.

2nd strike for some students

This is the second strike by University of Manitoba faculty in five years, with the last strike happening in 2016.

For some students, it's also the second strike they've been through while trying to finish their degree.

Brendan Scott, president of the U of MStudents' Union,said Monday that some instructors and professorshave taken down online learning materials, leaving students in the lurch.

Uncertainty is causing students a lot of anxiety, he said.

The students' union supports the professors' demands for a wage increase.

Dingwallsaid course material was taken down because it's considered the intellectual property of professors and removing it is part of the union's strike action.

The faculty association later said that while some members had left their teaching material online, the university took down the entire UM Learn system.

The U of M said in a statement that course materials developed by UMFA members belong to them,and if educators wanttheir content to be online, they must provide written consent to the university.

The university said if a course is no longer available on UM Learn, students aren't responsible for coursework during that time.

UMFA recognizes the strike is disruptive but stressed that they're doing it to maintain and improve the quality of education at the U of M, Dingwall said.

"We share those frustrations and we experience those same disruptions but we really know that's it's impacting students most," she said.

Benarroch also said he feels terrible for university students and he hopes the university and union can work something out asquickly as possible.

"I want them to know that I know everybody at the U of M is going to try as hard as possible to try and resolve this and in a shorter time."

The school says not all classes are cancelled as some instructors are not part of the union now on strike, so students should check the university's website for more information.

Strike begins at University of Manitoba

3 years ago

Duration 2:30

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association, the union for more than 1,000 U of M staff, has been fighting for higher wages for its members, arguing that low wages are causing persistent retention and recruitment problems.