U of S workers near strike footing as talks break down

Non-academic workers at the University of Saskatchewan are calling for more movement from their employer to avoid a strike that could shut down day-to-day operations on campus.

Over 200 Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1975 members packed into a classroom at the university on Tuesday to hear about the next step in their collective bargaining negotiations with the U of S, which have been ongoing since their last agreement expired in 2015.

The union, which represents about 1,900 workers at the U of S, said talks broke down in January when both sides became entrenched in positions surrounding wages and pensions.

Now union negotiators are demanding a meeting with the university’s board of governors and President Peter Stoicheff, or else they’ll continue along a path that could put workers in a strike position by early April.

“They’re the puppet masters, and they’re not coming to talk to us,” lead CUPE negotiator Ann Iwanchuk said, noting the “decision makers” at the university have declined meetings.

In a statement sent to 650 CKOM on Tuesday afternoon, the U of S said the board and senior administration have been kept up-to-date on the negotiating process, and they “are supportive of the direction the university’s bargaining team have taken.”

CUPE 1975 representatives speaking to the crowd of gathered members expressed disappointment in the “insulting” offers the university has put forward.
The U of S is offering wage increases of two per cent for each of 2019 and 2020, but no retroactive wage increases from 2016 to 2018.

“To still to be offered three zeroes is unacceptable,” CUPE 1975 president Craig Hannah said.

He said another point of contention is the university’s proposal to move from a defined benefit plan pension — which pays retired workers $18,100 annually — to a defined contribution or target benefit plan.

The U of S said in their statement they’ve been working for the past decade to find a “financially sustainable solution to the pension plan.”

The union is awaiting a labour relations board hearing on Thursday to argue that they should be allowed to strike under provincial labour regulations. The university is expected to argue the institution and its workers are part of a necessary public service, which the province has outlawed from being able to strike.

A ruling isn’t expected until April, though CUPE 1975 has already received a strike mandate from their members and has set up a strike headquarters.
Iwanchuk said the union still hopes the issues can be solved at the bargaining table, but they want to send a message to the university.

“We are ready, and we are willing to do whatever we need to do to get a fair collective agreement,” she said.

The union asked the university on Friday to return to the bargaining table. That request was granted while the CUPE 1975 meeting was in progress Tuesday.

CUPE 1975’s members include librarians, tradespeople, groundskeepers and other non-academic workers at the U of S.