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UNBC releases another detailed proposal shown to faculty as strike continues

It's now Day 15 of the ongoing job action
Jess Balzer
Jess Balzer
IMG_6955
UNBC Faculty Association members went to the picket lines on Nov. 7, 2019 in response to negotiations with the university (via Kyle Balzer)

UNBC has once again publically released a proposal it recently submitted to its faculty as the association's strike continues. 

Today (Nov. 22), the university sent out its latest offer to the public, first saying the UNBCFA's proposal fell outside the province's mandate. 

"As a result, the Employer worked through the evening to refine our offer, detailed below and presented it Thursday morning," the release begins.

"The offer still includes a superior compensation model featuring competitive wages. Importantly, the offer now includes the removal of non-monetary issues deemed as key rights by the FA."

The university says the faculty association initially rejected the offer (presented below), but UNBC will leave the deal on the table until Saturday afternoon (Nov. 23). 

UNBC states the details are a commitment to a superior and competitive salary structure for faculty that accomplishes the following: 

  • Ensures that the salary structure is aligned with the competitive benchmarks agreed to by the FA and the Employer in the Working Group on Compensation (formed following the last strike)
  • Ensures that starting salaries are competitive and facilitate the recruitment of outstanding faculty
  • Ensures salary adjustments are distributed equitably across ranks
  • Ensures that the salary ranges and annual Career Development Increments (CDI) for faculty (increased from $1,111 to $2,700) are financially sustainable past this agreement

The Employer first released an update yesterday (Nov. 21) saying it was reviewing the most recent presented proposal from the UNBCFA, which they also forwarded to the Public Sector Employer Council for a review. 

The UNBCFA then released one of their own, saying the school's chief negotiator "scolded" them after it presented a proposal. 

"The Chief Negotiator responded poorly to our presentation, indicating that she viewed our rapid response as disrespectful," the statement said. "We were asked to leave the room at 8:39 p.m. when we had just begun to present. We were permitted to return at 8:55 p.m. We attempted to resume presenting our proposal, but the Employer's Chief Negotiator scolded us for presenting a counter-offer before leaving the room at 9:09 p.m. to deal with a critical situation."

The school also released a chart, showing differences between UNBCFA's most recent proposal and their own. 

UNBC lists the following as highlights of the compensation offered by them: 

  • Tenured and Tenure-track faculty
    • Closes the salary gap between our faculty salaries and the average salaries of faculty at our comparator universities.
    • Average salary increases of approximately 15 per cent over three years which vary depending on the individual rank and number of years in rank.
    • Annual Career Development Increment (CDI) increase from $1,111 to $2,700.
  • Librarians
    • Annual CDI increase from $1,111 to $2,200
    • A nine per cent increase to salary ranges over three years resulting in a general wage increase of nine per cent over three years
  • Senior Lab Instructors
    • A new Senior Lab Instructor Rank IV, creating additional career-growth and earning opportunities for senior lab instructors
    • A new career path opportunity for teaching-focused SLIs (new designation – Senior Instructor)
    • An annual increase to the CDI of two per cent
    • A six per cent increase to salary ranges over three years resulting in a general wage increase of six per cent over three years

Key rights issues are listed as follows: 

The Employer is committed to honouring contractual obligations to existing faculty:

  • Faculty who currently receive market differentials (which normally have an expiry date) in addition to their nominal salaries, will have those differentials incorporated into their new nominal salary before placement onto the new salary scale

The Employer remains committed to the Program Chair structure:

  • The offer proposes updated language to reflect current practices and ensures that there are limited exceptions going forward.

The Employer is committed to fairness in the terms and conditions of employment of term members:

  • This offer creates a new Continuing Senior Instructor position and ensures current protections in the Collective Agreement remain in place

The Employer is committed to safeguarding the Tenure and Promotion process through the principles of collegial decision making:

  • The significance of our commitment is conveyed through withdrawing our earlier proposal for the removal of the appeal committee
  • The offer proposes the establishment of a Joint Working Group in which the parties further study the effectiveness of the Appeal process and make recommendations to the next round of collective bargaining

The Employer’s commitment to protect faculty who are sick or injured should be supported by the Collective Agreement. The proposal, which is to remove outdated forms in the agreement, ensures the following:

  • That faculty receive timely support for benefits claims
  • That necessary information is provided to our benefits carriers
  • That privacy and confidentiality is protected

The university says it has been provided a fair deal and have made every effort to optimize available funding while listening to concerns of the UNBCFA. 

"The Employer’s current offer proposes a compensation structure that not only recognizes the efforts and dedication of our current, long-serving faculty but also provides improved career progression for early-career faculty," the statement concludes.

"The Employer has made every effort to optimize the available funding, while also listening to the concerns of the FA bargaining team and the broader membership base regarding rights and collegial governance processes."