August 31, 2020 represents the formal end date of the current Collective Agreement and offers a window of opportunity for both parties to open negotiations. According to Clause 1.39 of the Collective Agreement, MUN and MUNFA both have the option to give notice of their desire to commence collective bargaining “…not more than ninety (90) days and not less than thirty (30) days before August 31, 2017.” If notice is not given then the window reappears a year later.
Fall of 2020 will offer the opportunity for MUNFA to negotiate a new Collective Agreement. To realise this opportunity, we need to convene a Priorities & Proposals Committee that will be responsible for:
- collecting suggestions from all MUNFA members and MUNFA Committees about changes they would like to see in their workplace and working conditions,
- communicating with the MUNFA Executive as we work to identify a focused set of priorities for bargaining,
- considering how these priorities can be advanced through changes to the Collective Agreement, and
- drafting contract language that incorporates these changes.
We would like the Committee to include bargaining unit members from across campus and representing a range of Faculties and Schools, including both tenure-stream and contractual academic staff members. We especially encourage members of equity-seeking groups to volunteer.
Following the first call, we have not received expressions of interest from Grenfell Campus academic staff, co-operative education academic staff, faculty members in the Student Wellness & Counselling Centre, librarians, and contractual academic staff.
If you are interested in serving on this important Committee, please contact the MUNFA Office (munfa@mun.ca) no later than Wednesday, February 19th at 4:30pm.
