UPEI administration requests arbitration as striking faculty ponders next move

Mediation between the University of Prince Edward Island and the school's faculty association broke down as the strike that's put classes on hold enters its fourth week.

Mediated talks between the parties ended after just three days this weekend. Now, UPEI's administration says it's asked that the process move on to interest arbitration. 

That means talks would continue, but students would also be able to return to class.

UPEI said in a release Tuesday the process would be led by Michelle Flaherty, the same facilitator who led the mediation talks.

Margot Rejskind, the lead negotiator for the UPEI Faculty Association, said faculty is still considering its next steps, but that it has concerns about having Flaherty as the arbitrator.

"For her to have been the mediator and then become the arbitrator in our view would be a very serious conflict of interest because she has been a party to all of the discussions," she said. "And so we do question the fact that they're even suggesting that."

Rejskind said arbitration wouldn't deal with many of its members' concerns, such as "the fact that we don't have enough faculty, that we are so low on full-time faculty that we will be seeing programs collapse and close in the next few years."

She said about 40 per cent of its members are working on short-term sessional contracts maxing out at about $30,000 a year.

University committed to crediting students

In a notice published on the UPEI website, the university said it remains committed to crediting students with net savings from not paying faculty salaries while they're on strike. 

UPEI said in an effort to get a deal on the weekend, it offered to pay both the university and faculty member pension contributions for the time that they were on strike.

That would have amounted to $355,000 for the first three weeks of the strike, which would otherwise have been net savings available to students, UPEI said.

We are the big losers in this strike and we don't even have a say in the matter.​​​​​​- Adam MacKenzie, UPEI student union president

The university said the faculty association countered with a back-to-work protocol that, in addition to paying both portions of pension and additional benefits, included 32 other items. 

"Among these items were additional cash pay outs of $2,000 per person plus 40 per cent of their lost wages for the strike they initiated," the notice said.

"This is in addition to their current non-taxable strike pay of $1,120/week for spending 10 hours on strike duty per week. This strike pay value is approximately equivalent to a gross annual salary of $96,000 if they had to pay taxes and standard regulatory and benefit deductions."

Government-imposed arbitration?

The university said it's hopeful interest arbitration could end the strike. But that process can't get started unless both parties agree or government steps in and uses legislation to impose arbitration.

No one from government would answer questions about what involvement the province might have in working to resolve this dispute.

The legislature has to reconvene by May 12 at the latest to elect a new speaker. Once that's happened, discussions to impose arbitration could get underway.

But Rejskind said UPEI shouldn't be waiting for the province to step in.

"It's important to note that the government can't act for several more weeks," she said.

"If that's what they're counting on, then the Board of Governors is acknowledging that there's the potential to completely lose the semester, and that they are comfortable with that."

Students frustrated with both sides

UPEI student union president Adam MacKenzie said students are growing anxious and impatient while waiting for classes to resume — or the semester to be cancelled.

"I think there are some people who show their frustration towards the faculty association, some people show their frustration towards the administration, and I think the majority of people show their frustration towards both," he said. 

"They feel that both sides are not being courteous enough to students. We are the big losers in this strike and we don't even have a say in the matter."

MacKenzie said the student union supports the administration's request to enter the interest arbitration process.

"Time is of the essence, and arbitration is kind of the last hope that students have to be assured of our credits and no semester extension. So we are hoping to see arbitration be entered tomorrow or the day after."