Mediation extended as University of Manitoba faculty strike looms
Original mediation deadline was Saturday at midnight
The clock is ticking.
As faculty members head toward a possible strike, the University of Manitoba Faculty Association says mediation with the administration is being extended for another 24 hours as it seeks to negotiates wages for the 2020-21 school year.
The original deadline for mediation was Saturday, but the UMFA extended it by 24 hours, said Greg Flemming, the executive director of the faculty association.
That also means a potential strike will be delayed.
"The earliest a strike could begin is Tuesday morning," he said in an email to CBC News.
The union has said its members want a modest pay increase, a more equitable salary grid and extra supports during the COVID-19 pandemic for faculty caring for children and other dependents.
However, the provincial government has told university administration to seek a 2.5 per cent reduction in labour costs from faculty, while it negotiates wages for the 2020-21 school year.
The last time the university's 1,200 professors, instructors and librarians walked off the job was in 2016, a strike that lasted about three weeks.