Queen’s University and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010, Unit 01, which represents academic assistants, have been actively engaged in negotiations to renew their collective agreement since June. After holding four bargaining dates in June, the parties asked the provincial government to appoint a conciliation officer to assist with the negotiations. Requesting a conciliation officer is a normal aspect of the collective bargaining process. A provincially appointed conciliation officer confers with the parties as they work through outstanding issues.
The university recently received a petition from USW. The petition stated that academic assistants have had their wages frozen for four years. In fact, what was negotiated by the parties was a significant wage increase in year one of the collective agreement – which began in 2012 – rather than having smaller wage increases distributed over the life of the four-year agreement. The effect of this agreement between the USW and Queen’s was that employees received a more substantial wage increase earlier in the life of the collective agreement rather than smaller increases throughout the agreement.
The university values the contributions of its many employees and remains committed to the collective bargaining process while balancing the university’s need to preserve its core academic mission and respect the limitations dictated by current financial realities.