The university’s unionized campus safety workers continued to strike after failing to reach an agreement during bargaining sessions March 20-21 on what would be their first collective agreement with Carleton.
Bargaining with OPSEU 404 is set to continue March 27-28.
Carleton took a swipe at the union in a release March 25, calling into question whether the union passed along a Carleton collective agreement offer to its members before launching the strike March 10.
“It remains unclear whether the employer’s offer on March 9 was ever presented to employees in the bargaining unit prior to this strike action being taken,” the release from Carleton’s assistant vice-president (human resources) Rob Thomas stated.
The release stated that salary maximums for Carleton’s safety staff are comparable to safety staff at other universities.
It said other universities that employ security guards, and not special constables as Carleton does, “generally operate their services on a lower cost base than Carleton’s model.”
“The university remains committed to securing a negotiated settlement with the union,” Carleton communications director Don Cumming said via email.
OPSEU negotiator Nelson Laguna said bargaining March 20-21 got the union “fairly close,” to what they wanted, but he said Carleton continues to hold out on certain items, and holding out on these items is “a gamble of safety.”
Laguna said OPSEU has heard from the daycare centre, parents, and students who are worried about safety on campus during the strike.
He said there have not been any safety situations directly related to the interim safety service during the strike, but several situations could have been handled better if the workers hadn’t been striking.
Thomas cited misinformation about the security situation on campus as the reason Carleton was putting out a release.
“[Misleading statements] have been widely circulated and have caused unnecessary anxiety on campus for some students, faculty and staff,” he said.
Laguna said he can’t clarify the subjects currently being debated, as negotiations are confidential.
“We’re waiting for these coming dates to try and reach an agreement again,” Laguna said. “Our campus safety officers, our special constables, our dispatchers—they want to get back to work.”
If bargaining March 27-28 yields no agreement, Laguna said OPSEU will be forced to “step up” their campaign.
He was unable to confirm what steps this might involve.
