University of Western Ontario Staff Association

Our Negotiations Team met with the UWO Team on Friday, May 28, 2010 to exchange proposals. Discussions followed where each side outlined their proposal with a brief explanation as to what they were trying to accomplish with it. While some major items have been tabled there have been no monetary proposals exchanged. This will be done after the majority of issues currently proposed have been dealt with.

This is a quick bulletin to bring UWOSA members up to date on a few issues, and to provide a brief reminder about the bargaining information workshops.

As usual, I invite comments, suggestions, or concerns about these (or any) issues. Feel free to contact me by email or phone (519.661.2111 x85041).

UWOSA and 4 other unions on campus (including all of those bargaining in 2010) have signed an open letter to UWO President Amit Chakma and the Board of Governors. The letter affirms our right and intention to engage free collective bargaining, and to work to achieve equitable collective agreements. It further rejects any impact of the Ontario Budget on the collective bargaining process. This letter is an important demonstration of the solidarity which exists among unions on the UWO campus.

The full text of the letter can be downloaded here.

A printable poster can be downloaded here.

The University’s Administration, in a memo to leaders and a Western News story, weighed in on the Ontario Government’s public sector salary restraint measures yesterday. Western, through its Provost, says that, “the legislation indicates that all universities are included, and hence it does affect all Western employees” and that, “when we begin bargaining for new agreements with any group, we will need to pay attention to the government's expectation – as stated in the legislation – that there be no net increase in compensation through to March 31, 2012”.

The McGuinty Government released its budget for the 2010-11 year last week, and it contains some modestly good news for universities. There is some new money for post-secondary institutions - $310M to fund 20,000 new student spaces (though the truth of the funding increase has been questioned by the CCPA’s Hugh McKenzie). However, this apparent increase in funding is overshadowed by the Liberal Government's announcement of a public sector wage restraint program.

The Federal Government recently tabled its budget for 2010-11. There has been widespread concern about the content of the budget, and how the Harper Government would react to the burgeoning deficit. While it does not contain cutbacks to Universities (or transfers to the provinces directed to them), the budget does not contain any meaningful funding increases either.