Strike Updates

• The employer’s most recent offer is 3.8% (value of salary scale adjustment in Year 1), 2.5%, and 2.5%, for a total increase of approximately 8.8% over three years. This is substantially lower than recent settlements at Dalhousie (3.25%, 3.25%, 3.5% = 10%) and Acadia (3%, 3.75%, 3.5% = 10.25%). Additionally, the employer wants to divert unused Professional Development funds ($1.4 million) to pay 4% of the salary increase, leaving an actual cost of 4.8%.
• We want our most overworked and underpaid members to see gains in this contract, but the monetary offer from the Employer to Teaching Stream (Lecturer Stream under the current CA) and Librarians would actually see newly hired members in these categories paid less, relative to Research Stream members, than they are currently.
• Our Professional Development Account lags far beyond comparative universities ($2055 vs. apx. $3500), but the Employer is only offering an increase to $2250

• Surveillance: Refusal so far to improve transparency in how our email and use of IT can be monitored and accessed.
• Refusal to discuss any language related to collegial governance.
• Our priority has been improving job security language, which has been met with little acceptance on the part of the employer but instead with their desire to strengthen the powers of the Board of Governors to determine layoffs and program closures, particularly in relation to powers of the Senate. This represents a threat to our job security, which in turn would compromise academic freedom.

A “strike vote,” with a simple majority of a union’s membership in favour, is a legally required step before a union can call a strike.

Not necessarily. Voting yes at this stage gives the negotiation team a strong vote of confidence and shows the Employer that we are united in our resolve. It can even be argued that a strong strike vote can make a strike less likely.

The Nova Scotia Trade Union Act requires that parties meet with a government-appointed Conciliation Officer before either party is allowed to call a strike or lockout. The Conciliation Officer acts as a third party that attempts to broker an agreement between the parties. At the end of the process, if an agreement is not reached, the Officer will write a “no Board” report,
which starts a two-week “cool-down” that is required before a strike or lockout can begin.

Conciliation will happen on February 2/3. If no agreement is reached, the Conciliation Officer will write a “no Board,” after which there is a two-week “cool down” before either party is allowed to call a strike or lock-out. This means that the earliest we would be in the strike position is the middle of February.

Our current collective agreement remains in effect until the parties are in a legal strike/lock-out position, two weeks after the conciliator’s “no board” report. After this period, in the absence of a strike mandate, the employer can unilaterally change terms of employment. Therefore, it is extremely risky to reach this point without a strike mandate.

The SMUFU Elections Officer (Florian Muenkel) will send out an email to all members with instructions.

Sabbaticants must vote. If you do not vote it will be counted as negative, as the language of the Trade Union Act specifies that the vote is considered over all members.

SMUFU will request that sabbaticants continue to receive their full salary from the Employer, however it is highly likely that the Employer will decline. In that situation sabbaticants will receive strike pay, but SMUFU will likely determine lower or no picket/strike duties.

Yes. The Trust has sufficient funds to cover benefits during a strike.

The Executive has almost finalized the strike pay amounts. In essence it will be a sliding scale (increasing with time) beginning around the Associate professor level. That means some members will get more than their current pay, while some will get less.