AASUA and the university exchange new offers
The two parties have exchanged a proposal and a counter offer as of September 25.
Emily WilliamsOn September 26, the Association of Academic Staff at the University of Alberta (AASUA) rescheduled its bargaining town hall that was meant to take place on the same day because the U of A had given AASUA a new proposal for a collective agreement.
In a statement on AASUA’s website, the association said it had received a new proposal from the university on September 25. AASUA tabled a counter offer shortly after, according to the statement.
The statement also said that negotiations have “taken this positive turn.” In the interest of “getting a deal now,” AASUA believes it will be best “to negotiate under a communications embargo of short duration.”
This means that information about negotiations will not be shared with those outside of the bargaining team. The statement did not specify how long the embargo would be in effect for.
AASUA said in the statement that it has asked the university to agree to an embargo as well, and return to the bargaining table in the immediate future.
The statement credited the mobilization and ongoing support for the AASUA bargaining team for the turn of events.
“Cautiously optimistic,” AASUA president says
AASUA shared a statement from Gordon Swaters, AASUA president, with The Gateway over email.
It said “while we are cautiously optimistic for what might occur, and their new offer does invest more in our benefits plan, there remains some vulnerabilities in their approach. Further, your bargaining team feels that the Employer’s offer doesn’t yet address the membership’s priorities in relation to additional steps for members whose salaries long ago hit the maximum cap, restore the [academic supplementary retirement plan] (ASRP), or provide job security for our Term [academic teaching staff] (ATS) members.”
The statement also noted that “now is not the time to slow our collective mobilizing activities as we ready for a strike vote. Neither is it the time to stop communicating to our membership in a clear and transparent manner, so you really know what is ‘on the table’ as presented by both sides.”
In an effort to continue communicating with its members, AASUA will hold bargaining town halls on October 2 and 3.
AASUA expects a response to its counter offer next week.
The U of A media relations said in comment to The Gateway that “the university is encouraged by this development and the opportunity to resume negotiations.”
“The university’s focus has been on reaching a negotiated agreement that avoids any work stoppage, which would have lasting negative impacts on the entire university community,” the statement said.
The statement also said that the university has not yet applied for a lockout poll.
Bargaining up to this point
In a public statement posted on the U of A’s bargaining website, it said details of the new settlement proposal will be provided in a subsequent update.
AASUA declared an impasse on September 19, largely due to dissatisfaction with the university’s proposal around AASUA’s members’ benefits plan. This started a 14-day cooling off period, which will end on October 3.
AASUA applied for a supervised strike vote to take place between October 6 and October 9. The U of A said it would apply for a lockout poll in a public statement released on September 23.
