No Weekend Talks Scheduled
Nanaimo – Dan McDonald, President of the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association expressed disappointment about the failure of the second mediation in a week. “We came to the table to focus on one issue – ensuring that there are no unnecessary cuts to courses at VIU. Unfortunately the employer has not changed its position since February 15, 2011”.
“The employer wants to cut any faculty member or any course without justification” said Dominique Roelants, the Chief Steward of the Faculty Association. The Association has heard that at least six science faculty learned this week that they will be laid off. “At established universities, before they cut courses and programs, they must open their books and justify the need to cut education and layoff faculty. VIU refuses to adopt this standard university practice – what are they hiding?”
Gara Pruesse, the Faculty Association negotiator believes the university’s priorities are wrong. “Over the past four years, while faculty were being cut, the university has increased its spending by 40% on manager’s salary and benefits. That money should have been spent offering courses to the 1500 student who were stranded on waitlists this term. It’s not about budget shortfalls – it’s about the wrong priorities”.
Dan McDonald reiterated that the faculty bargaining team came to the second mediation this week with the expectation that the employer wanted to negotiate. “We came to the table expecting to work hard to resolve the job security issue and end program cuts so that students could get back into class this term, and so that the classes the students need next term will be available. The employer had no interest in negotiating and instead wants to put the future of the students in jeopardy”.
No talks are scheduled. The strike continues.
Come on, the students are simply being used as pawns. If the faculty is really concerned about the students being able to get back to their studies before the whole years work goes down the drain, then they would get back to work now, and go on strike in the summer, or before the next term so students at least have a choice to go to work or not. Now they sit in limbo with many dollars invested and time, and not just their dollars, but also their parents dollars in many cases, with the very real chance that the whole year will be wasted, and they will have to re-do the whole semester next year. I understand your plight, but I do not think this is the time to strike. I myself just went through a big labor dispute at the pulp mill in Campbell River where it is now shut down permanently and I am out of work.
ReplyDeleteI am an instructor at another BC post secondary institution where talks between the college and the faculty have gone absolutely nowhere in the past year. This is pathetic, as is the case at VIU, Langara, VCC, etc.
ReplyDeleteEven being an instructor, I have no issues with being cut if there is no student demand for my course area. It's business, plain and simple and the private sector works that way with the flow of the business market conditions. What I don't understand is how management can just go ahead and cut jobs without justifying it -where is the trust, respect, etc between management and faculty if this is the case.