Bargaining is scheduled to resume this morning after the 550 members of the College of New Caldonia faculty association held a strike vote earlier this week.
The union, which represent the college’s instructional staff, has been meeting with a mediator from the Labour Relations Board to try to achieve a collective agreement under the province’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
Under that mandate, several other colleges and universities in B.C. have already settled three-year agreements dating back to July 1, 2022.
Those collective agreements provided the following general wage increases to faculty staff:
Year 1 – a flat increase to annual salaries of $455 (or 25 cents per hour), which provides a greater percentage increase for lower paid employees, plus 3.24 per cent;
Year 2 – 5.5 per cent, plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 6.75 per cent (maximum 6.7 per cent triggered as of March 21, 2023);
Year 3 – 2 per cent plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 3 per cent.
Also included was a negotiable flexibility allocation of up to 0.2 per cent in years 1 and 2 to support mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties.
CNC says all classes, programs, and services it provides at its campuses in Prince George, Quesnel, Vanderhoof, Mackenzie and Fort St. James are continuing while negotiations proceed.
It’s expected that faculty association of CNC vice-president Marta Tejero will provide an update on the state of negotiations later today.
