CANADIAN LABOUR:

YORK UNIVERSITY RESUMES NEGOTIATIONS WITH STRIKING WORKERS:

The following information is from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). It seems that the public support for striking workers at York University has had an effect, as the Administration has decided to return to the bargaining table.

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York U starting year off right; agrees to resume talks with CUPE 3903:
TORONTO, Ont. – After weeks of waiting, CUPE 3903 has finally heard from the provincially-appointed mediator that the York University administration is ready to resume talks aimed at ending the strike that began almost two months ago.

“We have done our work to revise our proposals and have been ready to meet for more than two weeks,” said Graham Potts, lead negotiator for the union. “We can only hope that the university’s negotiators have done the same kind of work and are ready to move toward a settlement.”

The main issues in the strike are job security for contract faculty, restoration of benefit and other funds to 2005 levels with indexation to growth in membership, and improved wages. The total increase in the cost of the CUPE 3903 collective agreement for the union’s proposals would be 11% over two years, according to Potts.

“We were ready to bargain anytime over the holidays, so are looking forward to a return to the table on January 3 and settling on a fair collective agreement so we can all get back to class,” he said.
For more information, contact:


Graham Potts, CUPE 3903 Lead Negotiator, 416-570-5187

Lykke de la Cour, CUPE 3903 Unit 2 (Contract Faculty), 416-454-8314

Pat Daley, CUPE Communications, 416-616-6142