Concordia University in Montreal is facing a series of rotating strikes beginning Monday, 31 March 2008. Part time faculty have been without a contract for six years - yes, I said six years. The instructors are members of Concordia University Part-time Faculty Association (CUPFA) and they teach 40% of the university’s classes. With only three weeks left in the semester, this is a serious matter for students.

According to a CTV news report the university doesn’t expect the strike to affect many classes, however a Gazette report quotes direct of media relations Chris Mota as saying, “[I]t’s difficult to say what impact a walkout would have on students and day-to-day operations at the university.”

CUPFA is looking for pay equity with their peers. Lecturers at both Montreal’s French speaking universities earn $7,000 for a 13-week course, whereas CUPFA members earn only $5,400 for the same work. In addition, the university had signed a letter of agreement that would grant full time faculty exactly the same wage for teaching “reserve” or extra courses, as was granted to the part time faculty. Despite the agreement, the university is paying $6,800 for these reserve courses - a full $1,400 more than they should. The union has already filed a grievance, which was won at the Quebec Court of Appeal in June 2007. They have yet to receive any wage adjustment or retroactive pay.

CUPFA points out that since its contract expired their class sizes and workloads have both increased, and their wages have been frozen. They are also looking for benefits such as medical and disability insurance, a pension plan, parental leave, and dedicated office space. They also want job security.

There doesn’t seem to be any end to the disruption of educational services in Montreal this year. No matter how much I empathize with employees who are denied pay equity with their peers and who work without benefits or job security, I can’t shake the feeling that they are holding the students hostage when they decide to strike so close to the end of a semester. And as much as I would like to sympathize with an underfunded university that seems eager to explore financial alternatives (e.g. tuition deregulation that would see students who expect to earn higher wages charged higher tuitions,) I can’t help but wonder how the university can allow its staff to go so long without a valid contract.

This is not the first time, either. The clerical staff was 5-1/2 years without a contract when they finally settled, and not so very long ago it was the teaching assistants who were fighting for their contract.

Best of luck to the Concordia students. I urge you to show up for your classes as usual this next few weeks, and let both the faculty and the university know how you feel when a class is cancelled. It may feel like it’s a nice break, but you’ve paid for those classes with your good money, and you were promised an education in return. When your classes are cancelled, both your professors and the university are failing you.

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks to the Gazette and CUPFA for the details.

Posted in Current Events | Save This Page