It's day 23 of UNBC faculty on the picket lines and nobody has heard much from UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks, but he's decided to talk.
Faculty had called on the provincial government this past Tuesday (Nov. 26) to send a special mediator to hopefully find ground between the two sides.
Labour Minister Harry Bains granted that request and appointed Trevor Sones.
Sones worked with the two sides Wednesday (Nov. 27) and yesterday (Nov. 28), but as of this morning, no deal was reached. with both parties waiting for a report from the mediator.
"The mediator has completed his work," Weeks said to PrinceGeorgeMatters. "We're told we should expect a report and/or he'll be reaching out to both parties in the next day or two to talk about what he thinks might be our way forward."
"I'm hopeful," he added "We tried to answer all of his questions and he came back with very thoughtful input for us and I'm hoping, I think we found it a positive experience and I hope the other side as well and he'll have some constructive things to offer. Until we hear that, we're just waiting like everyone else."
When asked how the situation and the tension between both sides have played out for him personally, Weeks said it's not about him and how he feels at the end of the day, it's about the students and faculty who are the backbone of the university.
"Well, sure," he added. "But let's be perfectly clear here, no matter how tough it is for me, I fully recognize that it's certainly much tougher on them [students] and not only our students but much of our staff, who are keeping our campuses running. It is much tougher for them than it is for me.
While he understands the frustration and anxiety coming from students and other concerned parties, Weeks explained there's much more happening behind closed doors than what is actually released, due to confidentiality and respect for both sides during negotiations.
"I think their anxiety and demands that I do something is undoubtedly due to a lack of understanding and knowledge about what really is happening and there's only so much we can put out there," Weeks continued. "I'm sure people are tired of hearing me say, and others say, 'we're doing the best we can for the students and this is all about trying to do a deal and also trying to make sure that UNBC is the best it can be for our students. I'm sure it gets a little tiring after a while but nonetheless it's true. So we're doing what we can."
With both sides released back and forth statements and the UNBCFA recently saying the actions of UNBC and demands have been illegal, Weeks said he's a little upset by how the tone is starting to play in public as well as the media but he also acknowledged the UNBCFA is extremely valuable and important to the success of students and the future of UNBC going forward.
"There's lots of frustration on both sides," added Weeks. "I think the tone has gotten a little bit unfortunate but again, I tie it back to some frustration there and to be fair, it's not entirely unwarranted. The faculty here, their compensation has been far below what they should have expected given their comparisons at other universities. It's been far low for far too long. It goes back decades. Both sides, myself, the administration and certainly the FA see this as an important opportunity to see make gains in that area that are far too long and coming and I couldn't agree more on that."
"I think where we likely differ, is how do we get there and how quickly do we get there. This is certainly not about saying 'they're not deserving' that's not what's at play here at all. I have great respect for our faculty and I understand that along with our staff, they're the backbone of our institution. I know that full well."
As mentioned above, the UNBCFA said that the administration is engaging in what they call 'unlawful' demands. In a release today, faculty said they consulted with a lawyer on their team and an independent lawyer but Weeks said from their understanding, they have done nothing wrong but do find the comments not necessarily beneficial to the bargaining process.
"I don't find it particularly helpful," he said. "But again, I understand that could be motivated by some frustration and I get that. At the same time, one thing particular issue that the association felt was just simply not within legal standing and we know now that it's been clarified and that clarification has included its own lawyers. As we got from our lawyers, we're proceeding with a very sound approach on this."
"We have no knowledge of anything that we've done that is in any way unlawful or illegal. "I'm sad that the tone has taken that turn but nonetheless, I'm still committed to getting the best deal possible for our faculty."
