Strike action at Vancouver Island University (VIU) continues with “no settlement in sight” according to the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association (VIUFA).
Negotiations between VIU and VIUFA broke down last week and a strike began at all VIU campuses, including Powell River, on Thursday, March 10. Negotiators met again that afternoon but by the end of meetings both parties “left the table with no settlement in sight,” according to an online notice from VIUFA. Currently no talks are scheduled, although according to Toni O’Keeffe, VIU executive director of communications, the university has tried to bring the parties back to the table.
All classes, services and activities that take place on campus have been cancelled as a result of the strike. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU), the other two unions with employees at the school, have decided not to cross picket lines in support of VIUFA.
In Powell River picketers hit the campus, one or two at a time due to low numbers, braving the rain to show their support. Between 1,200 and 1,300 students who attend the university and who aren’t in off-campus programs, such as welding, culinary arts or hairdressing, are staying home.
VIUFA is demanding to negotiate two-year salary freezes (which they believe are inappropriate considering “ballooning compensation for administrators”), growing acceptance wait lists for students and cut services. As well, they want to see faculty members having a say in the hiring and renewal of administrators who impact academic offerings. Also on the table is giving temporary faculty the option to take on temporary work based on seniority.
O’Keeffe said the biggest issue for VIU is a no-layoff clause that VIUFA is pushing for, a contract condition she said the university is simply unable to agree to and that is unheard of for a post-secondary institution. Salary freezes are government mandated according to O’Keeffe and are being delivered across the board, not just to faculty, because they must come in within a budget determined by a board of governors, on which VIUFA representatives sit. She also disagrees with numbers that VIUFA is giving to the media, including its claims of recent 40-per-cent salary increases
for administrators.
“There’s a lot of miscommunication out there right now about a lot of facts,” said O’Keeffe. “We have a huge investment in faculty and a very low investment in administration...This information that they’re putting out there around administrative increases versus faculty increases is just inaccurate.”
VIUFA is a certified trade union that represents instructional and non-instructional faculty at VIU, not including teachers of vocational courses. There are 453 faculty members in total at all VIU locations, including eight at the Powell River campus. A further 12 CUPE and 13 BCGEU employees are also off the job. Online courses are still running, as are practicum programs for carpentry and health care assistant students.
Readers can visit VIUFA.ca for negotiation updates and VIU.ca for updated information on classes and the strike.
