March 5th: Update to Membership
SAFA Commences Bargaining with SAIT
As SAFA has provided SAIT with its Notice to Commence Collective Bargaining, there’s some information in which members should be aware.
First, with the notice to bargain comes a freeze period on the current collective agreement (CA). The current CA remains in effect, “as is”, until the signing of a new agreement. That is, no changes can be made to the CA until a new one has been ratified and signed. Should negotiations go beyond the expiry date of the current CA (June 30, 2024), the language will continue to remain in force as long as the parties continue the bargaining process.
Second, with the notice to bargain, and in accordance with the Alberta Labour Code, the employer must meet with SAFA within 30 days of the notice, and the parties must exchange proposals 15 days following this initial meeting.
However, while your SAFA bargaining committee is looking forward to meeting and our goal is to reach an agreement, we still have several concerns with government interference in the process. The secret mandate letters from the provincial government have created a level of distrust among unions, as the unions feel that they are not bargaining with the people making decisions, at least on wages. These mandate letters and no GoA official at the table, makes it more likely that bargaining will reach impasse and end up in mediation.
Your SAFA bargaining team remains hopeful that we can have fulsome discussions at the table and reach a deal that provides its members with better working conditions and wages. But if all the post-secondary negotiations across the province are unsuccessful and end up in mediation, or worse – locked-out or on strike, it is going to take a concerted effort on the part of faculty association presidents and members to let the Government know that this process isn’t fair and that it isn’t working.
In solidarity,
Craig Coolahan
Labour Relations Officer, SAFA