Following consultation with our members, Memorial University administration’s final offer (as outlined to the membership here) was considered by the MUNFA Negotiating and Executive Committees to be insufficient, most particularly regarding provisions for contingent faculty. MUNFA’s Negotiating Committee therefore indicated formally to the administration in our conciliation meeting of November 5, 2018 that their last package of proposals was not acceptable, noting our concern on the key equity issues relating to Term ASMs. The employer responded that they would not reopen negotiations unless we accepted demands that we had already rejected, for example, an additional year of a salary freeze, and post-tenure review. We rejected this demand for concessions as unacceptable.
The conciliator has agreed that the Parties are now at an impasse, and will write his report to the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour. Fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt by the Minister, MUNFA will be in a legal position to hold a strike vote. The Negotiating Committee believes that only with a strong strike mandate will MUNFA be able to negotiate a Collective Agreement that is fair and equitable for all ASMs and will be recommending a strike vote to MUNFA’s Executive.
MUNFA’s Executive will provide further information as details become available.
MUNFA’s Negotiating Committee:
- Jon Church (Chief Negotiator), Medicine
- Alison Coffin, MUNFA Executive Officer (non-voting)
- Dan Duda, Library
- Kurt Korneski, History
- Leroy Murphy, Business
- Dave Peddle, Grenfell Campus
- Nathalie Pender, Grenfell Campus
- Nicole Power, Sociology
- Richard Rivkin, Ocean Science
