UPEI 'will not lock out faculty and staff' this summer

There are more developments Monday in the impasse in contract talks between UPEI and its faculty association — the association is seeking a judicial review of the province's decision to move forward with conciliation, while the university is pledging there will be no lockout.

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P.E.I.'s only university began contract negotiations with the faculty group in early February but the talks have been mired in complaints of unfair labour practices and accusations of bad faith bargaining. 

There is very much worry about a summer lockout and the effects that that would have on students, on programs, on the university.— Nola Etkin, UPEI Faculty Association

A conciliator had scheduled Monday and Tuesday of this week for negotiations to resume, but the faculty association asked that the dates be rescheduled to allow three outstanding labour board complaints to first be heard.

"We expect the province to be neutral in dealing with labour relations issues, and we expect fair treatment from the province," said Nola Etkin, the president of the UPEI Faculty Association, which represents nearly 400 full- and part-time faculty and sessional instructors and others. 

"But the actions of the province in this matter have been neither fair nor neutral." 

The Department of Justice and Public Safety has left faculty no choice but to seek a ruling through the courts, Etkin said.

The province said Monday it would not respond to accusations about unfairness as the matter is now with the courts.

'Artificial' deadline

The university reiterated Monday it is confident that both parties can resolve outstanding issues with the help of a third-party independent conciliator and conclude an agreement by June 30, when the collective agreement expires.

"The only reason we can see for conciliation is to feed into the employer's agenda for a July 1 lockout of faculty association members," said Etkin, complaining the June 30 deadline is "artificial." 

Issues include changes to the structure of the faculty's pension plan.

"There is very much worry about a summer lockout and the effects that that would have on students, on programs, on the university as a whole," she added. 

'Will not lock out'

"There is no plan, and there never has been a plan to lock out faculty," the university administration responded in a statement early Monday afternoon. 

"The university will not lock out faculty and staff. The university hopes that the Faculty Association will return to the negotiating table and also commit to not striking," the statement continued.

The release also expressed disappointment that the faculty group did not show up for Monday's conciliation meeting. 

'Did not agree to' conciliation dates

"There have been no efforts so far, no substantive efforts, to deal with those unfair labour practice complaints which were filed at the end of April," said Etkin. 

"And yet they have moved quite quickly to appoint a conciliator who has, against our objections and without consultation, set dates for conciliation which we did not agree to." 

Association members are not yet ready for conciliation, contends Etkin, noting the two sides have spent about 30 hours at the bargaining table where previous agreements have taken hundreds of hours. She points out conciliation is a required step toward job action such as a lockout.  

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