We have referred a number of proposals to arbitration dealing with workload, sabbatical leave and associated allowances, job security and a number of monetary issues, specifically regarding wages, our salary grids, our Terminable Allowance and the Professional Development Allocation. We have received the proposals that the employer referred to arbitration, and we are disappointed.

Specifically, the employer proposes nothing to reduce the gap between our wages and that of colleagues at other universities and proposes not to renew our Terminable Allowance. They stand firm on their proposals to restrict our Academic Freedom, remove Past Practice language from our collective agreement and shorten the continuous period without scheduled teaching duties to which we are entitled every academic year.

We must now wait for an Arbitration Board to be established by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) and for the scheduling of arbitration hearing dates. We do not know how long it will take for the hearing to be scheduled, but this typically takes several months with recent arbitration decisions issued by the FPSLREB between 12 and 14 months from referral to arbitration. We are as impatient as you are for the matter to be resolved, but we stand firm in protecting your rights under the collective agreement.

We remain open to a resolution of collective bargaining and will use every opportunity to get you the best possible collective agreement.

Please address your questions or comments to the CMCFA Chief Negotiator, Sylvain (Sly) Leblanc, at leblanc@cmcfa-apcmc.ca

In solidarity,

The CMCFA Bargaining Team