Faculty strike at Laurentian

Four years after narrowly avoiding closure under bankruptcy proceedings, Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont., is now engulfed in labour unrest.  

Members of the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) went on strike Monday, arguing that they have already paid too high a price for the institution’s financial recovery.  

The strike comes after several months of negotiations, including a mediation process that ended Sunday, having failed to break the impasse. Last November, the faculty, librarians and counsellors who make up the LUFA membership voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike mandate. 

In a statement released on Sunday, the university administration confirmed that, while the campus remains open, all classes, labs and seminars led by LUFA members have been suspended. “The University remains open and willing to continue negotiations if LUFA will return to the bargaining table,” the statement read.  

However LUFA president Fabrice Colin said in a statement issued Monday that the university must “recognize the huge sacrifices faculty, librarians, and professional staff” made during the bankruptcy and restructuring proceedings.  

Faculty union seeks more favourable collective agreement 

Dr. Colin said in an interview that LUFA’s last collective agreement was “more or less imposed, since the alternative was the closure of the institution.” As part of the university’s bankruptcy-driven restructuring, 110 teaching positions were eliminated; non-tenured staff took a five per cent salary reduction in the first year, followed by a wage freeze and increases limited to one per cent for each of the following three years; professional allowances were cut; and workloads were increased. “The pension plan was decimated,” added Dr. Colin.  

Wages, pensions and workloads are major issues for the union in the present negotiations. “We need to make significant gains. The members will accept nothing else.”  

For its part, the university maintains that its “proposed salary increases are beyond what is normative in the sector, and our offer includes improvements for LUFA members in key areas.”  Reached by University Affairs, a university spokesperson stated that the administration “is currently focused on the negotiations,” while reiterating that the University aims for a fair agreement for LUFA members “while protecting Laurentian’s long-term financial viability.” 

Effects of bankruptcy and restructuring still playing out 

In the statement issued Monday, the university administration acknowledged “the critical role that LUFA members play both inside and outside of the classroom” and expressed appreciation for “their efforts in restoring Laurentian to its current status and in charting its future.”  

However, it continued: “In challenging economic times for universities, the Administration and Board must ensure that a new collective agreement will not compromise all the hard work that has been done to move the University forward over the past few years. Our primary responsibility is to make sure that Laurentian University is strong for the future.” 

But the union argues that the situation had stabilized, notably due to the sale of real estate assets. “We did everything asked of us to help stabilize this university,” LUFA’s statement reads. “Now that Laurentian is financially stable, it’s time for the Board of Governors to step up and do its part.” 

Pension plan a sticking point 

The union also wants the administration of its pension plan to be taken away from the university and put in the hands of a third party, which, Dr. Colin argues, “is becoming the norm for the sector in Ontario.” Last December, current and retired LUFA members were awarded a $3 million settlement after a judge determined that the money they had paid into a retiree health benefits plan was mismanaged by the university.     

However, due to the exit loan agreement that followed Laurentian’s debt restructuring under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangment Act, the employee pension plan cannot be negotiated during the current contract talks.  

The exit loan agreement prohibits the university from establishing a defined-benefit pension plan before 2038. However, Dr. Colin argues that the agreement has lost its reason for being, since Laurentian’s financial situation is now under control. “[The Agreement] ultimately represents an obstacle to the normal functioning of the university, rather than a safety net,” he said.  

LUFA has launched a campaign asking the provincial goverment to release Laurentian from the exit loan agreement. “We need both the courts and the government away from the bargaining table so that negotiations can proceed transparently, responsibly, and in good faith,” the campaign website states.  
 
Last November, LUFA filed a challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, arguing that the exit loan agreement abrogates collective bargaining rights. The case has not yet been heard in court.