Professionals Making A Difference
Your UVic bargaining committee is recommending that the following package of proposals be presented to the University’s Employer Bargaining Committee for negotiating a new collective agreement.
Please review the summary of proposals outlined in this memo and provide your comments by end of day Tuesday, March 30. Please direct your comments to Scott McCannell or to our Victoria office. Your committee will meet on April 1st to review all of your comments prior to finalizing the proposals that will be tabled with the employer on April 19th.
In drafting the package, your bargaining committee reviewed and considered all membership input on collective bargaining issues, including the online bargaining survey and information received from members throughout the past four years.
About 350 members expressed their views in the survey. While members made it clear that wages and benefits are the priority issues, there was also recognition that this round of public sector collective bargaining in BC has and will likely continue to take place under government’s very restrictive wage mandate of no general wage increases and no increases in any compensation costs (e.g. paid leaves or benefits) for the next two years.
Settlements reached to date in the health sector and public service have been consistent with that mandate, so it may be the case that no public sector union will successfully negotiate general wage increases in this round of bargaining in BC. About 200,000 public sector employees will be bargaining this year and we will continue to monitor other settlements and ensure that the PEA is treated fairly.
Not all of the issues that members raised will be reflected in our proposals. In deciding which issues should be included, the bargaining committee had to weigh a number of factors, including the priorities identified by members, and whether a suggested proposal addressed a prevalent and substantial problem. We also had to consider the constraints imposed by the present government on public sector bargaining.
In the bargaining committees’ view, the following constitutes a reasonable, defensible and consistent basis for negotiating a new collective agreement with the employer:
Your bargaining committee is counting on your support to achieve our bargaining goals. We will keep you informed of developments as they arise. We encourage all members to enroll in the member-run listserv. Contact Jane Kovach to have your name added.
Your continued support and engagement in the collective bargaining process is appreciated in our effort to achieve a fair and acceptable collective agreement settlement.
UVic Bargaining Committee:
Jonathan Foweraker, Co-op Education Coordinator
John Foxgord, Manager, Project Management Office
Jane Godfrey, Manager, Development Services
Sandra Guerreiro, Audience Services Manager
Lynn McCaughey, Career Educator
Matt Stiegemeyer, Manager, Student Marketing and Communications
Scott McCannell, PEA Labour Relations Officer
