August 18, 2000
At the instigation of Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Faculty Association (MUNFA), conciliation between the faculty union and the MUN administration is about to begin with the aid of a government conciliator. Speaking for the Faculty Association, Noel Roy, President of MUNFA explained: “Negotiations with the administration for a new Collective Agreement began on October 4, 1999. After ten months of negotiations, only four of thirty-one articles have been signed off. Even more important to the union is the fact that the Administration has made no response to MUNFA’s proposals on salaries, early retirement and pension reform. MUNFA members have not received an increase in their salary scales since 1989. Salaries of faculty lag behind our mainland counterparts by about 20%. The university has great difficulty attracting highly qualified professors and retaining those who do come. These are serious problems which the union believes can only be addressed by significant increases in the salary scale.”
Dr. Roy made it clear that “The union’s move to conciliation is an effort to accelerate and focus negotiations on the outstanding issues. Fifteen days after the conciliator files his report, MUNFA will be in a position to take a strike vote. The union is anxious to make as much progress as possible on negotiations during the last weeks of August and early September in order to avoid any disruption to the teaching semester, due to begin on September 6.”
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Contact: Dr. N. Roy
President, MUNFA
737-8245 or 737-8642
