Class is back in for Vancouver Island University students today (April 12), but the key issues that prompted the faculty association to strike are unresolved.
The university and the association reached an agreement Sunday evening and professors returned to work Monday, with regular classes resuming Tuesday.
Professors went on strike March 10.
The last-minute agreement saves the semester for students, as the university had set April 11 as the drop-dead date for courses to resume before the semester had to be extended into May, which might not have been an option for either students or the university.
Dan McDonald, faculty association president, said the majority of issues were resolved, but no agreement was reached on the major issues that prompted the strike – job security and program cuts.
“It didn’t look like we’d be able to resolve it and still save the semester,” he said. “We appealed to the university and the university agreed to go to the Minister of Labour and ask for a special mediator.”
McDonald said the mediator will work with both parties for the next 30 days and if no agreement is reached on the remaining issues, will make a non-binding, public recommendation.
If that recommendation is rejected by one or both parties, the union has the right to initiate job action starting in September, although because the association’s contract expires next March, the union would likely wait until the next round of bargaining, McDonald said.
“I expect there will be a huge amount of public pressure to accept the recommendation,” said McDonald.
VIU president Ralph Nilson is happy to get students back to class.
He said the last two issues left to bargain are challenging because VIUFA is asking for concessions the university does not have the authority to give, but he’s cautiously optimistic the two parties can come to some sort of an agreement.
“We’ll wait and see what types of opportunities do evolve from the discussions,” said Nilson.
As for the financial impacts of the month-long strike, he said it is too early to tell.
All the institution’s revenue-generating operations, such as the cafeteria and the bookstore, lost a month’s revenue and some students – although not many as of Friday – asked for refunds, he said.
There’s also the potential for a decline in enrolment next fall, Nilson added.
Many students are happy to have the chance to finish the semester, said Patrick Barbosa, VIU Students’ Union spokesman, but they are also concerned about the lost curriculum – to finish on time, exams are cancelled.
The students’ union is creating an emergency financial aid fund to help students who expected to be out of class before April 29, he added.
“For some students, it does mean postponing their work or returning to their homes,” said Barbosa. “We’ll be tracking that as we move forward. The majority of students would have been out of here by mid-April.”
