University of Manitoba faculty have set bargaining and strike deadlines for Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, respectively, as the school’s salaries remain among the lowest of Canada’s major research institutes.
Roughly 1,200 professors, instructors, academic librarians and archivists represented by the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA) are in mediation with U of M’s administration in hope of gaining higher salaries.
According to Statistics Canada, U of M faculty are currently among the lowest paid of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, an association representing 15 of the country’s major public research schools.
“Our members have made very clear to us that they need a reasonable salary increase to prevent falling further behind and to remain competitive with other universities in Canada,” said UMFA president Orvie Dingwall.
The provincial government’s Public Service Sustainability Act (PSSA) has kept U of M faculty salaries frozen since 2016, according to Dingwall. The act was deemed unconstitutional by Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench in 2017, but the decision was overturned by the province’s Court of Appeal earlier this month.
Dingwall said UMFA met Friday with the province’s public sector unions and Manitoba Federation of Labour, which comprise the Partnership to Defend Public Services, to discuss possibilities for future legal action. UMFA also held a press event with the Manitoba Liberal Party and Manitoba NDP several weeks ago to advise the government to withdraw from negotiations as a means of avoiding a strike.
“No one wants to go on strike but, at the same time, our members are prepared to stand up for the quality of student education, and that means keeping government out of the university,” she said.
Myrrhanda Novak, U of M’s executive director of public affairs, provided an emailed statement to the Charlatan.
“Mediation continues as we work to conclude a collective agreement that supports stability in operations; an outstanding educational experience for our students; fairness to our faculty members; and sustainability for our institution,” the statement reads in part.
Novak also said U of M president Michael Benarroch is not responding for comment on the bargaining or the planned strike.
A similar negotiation phase in fall 2020 ended with UMFA narrowly ratifying an agreement with U of M out of compassion for students.
“It had already been plenty stressful going into those phases of the pandemic, but to be going into that lockdown again and be thinking of a strike, it was just too much,” Dingwall said.
She added that a one-time COVID-19 stipend of $1,950 the university made to faculty last year — about $2.3 million total — roughly equals how much U of M’s operating grant was permanently cut this year by the government. Dingwall said that Manitoba’s post-secondary funding has remained stable and that the cut only served to “penalize” the university for providing faculty with additional funds.
“This is really a crisis point and the administration absolutely has the capability to fix this with a reasonable salary offer,” Dingwall said.
The UMFA has attracted support from some students, such as Students Supporting UMFA, a multidisciplinary student-run collective that aims to keep students supported and informed during mediation and the possible strike.
“We want to act as a buffer zone between the admin and faculty so that students aren’t left behind this year,” said Moira Kennedy, a Students Supporting UMFA volunteer and third-year native studies student.
Kennedy cited larger class sizes, longer waitlists and less one-on-one time with instructors as consequences of U of M’s inability to recruit and retain faculty. She added that she has seen much faculty turnover in the last three years and that the university tends to favour sessional instructors who can be paid less.
“Some of my greatest professors have this really specific niche that they teach in that you can’t find anywhere else, and when we lose that, we’re losing the opportunity to learn about that,” Kennedy said.
Some departments have as much as 50 per cent faculty vacancy amid better salary offers at other schools, according to Dingwall.
According to the University of Manitoba Students’ Union, tuition increased 3.75 per cent last year despite a $94 million surplus on U of M’s 2020-2021 budget.
“What UMFA is asking for is nowhere near that $94 million,” Kennedy said. “The university is in a great financial place. They have the funds to support UMFA and the government has mandated against it.”
Savannah Szocs, vice-president student life for the UMSU, said in an email to the Charlatan that the union is only responding for comment to Manitoban media.
UMFA currently awaits confirmation on whether the government will withdraw from negotiations. Kennedy said faculty and Students Supporting UMFA have repeatedly contacted the ministers of advanced education and finance but are continually redirected between the two ministries.
Dingwall said she hopes U of M will prioritize students’ education, pay faculty adequately and acknowledge the government’s interference.
“We’re at a really important crossroad as far as recruitment and retention of our faculty members,” Dingwall said. “If there’s no one here to teach students, then there’s no student education.”
Featured image by Jaya Budhia.
