University of Alberta, academic staff enter formal mediation after negotiations stall

Mandatory mediation between the University of Alberta and its academic staff association is set to begin Friday against the backdrop of a possible strike.

The U of A and the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) — Canada's largest academic staff association — will begin formal mediation talks on Friday. 

If mediation efforts fail, the association can apply to the Alberta Labour Relations Board for a supervised strike vote, following a 14-day cooling-off period.

Sweeping cuts to post-secondary spending by the provincial government have contributed to an unprecedented wave of labour unrest among academic staff across the province, AASUA president Tim Mills said Thursday. 

In January, Concordia University of Edmonton saw Alberta's first faculty strike. Faculty at the University of Lethbridge are currently on strike after walking off the job last week. Faculty and administration at Mount Royal University reached an agreement in principle this week after more than 22 months of contract negotiations triggered mediation.

"The provincial government is partially responsible for the labour disruption we see in Lethbridge, and the uncertainty that we see here at the U of A," Mills said in an interview.

The U of A had its provincial base operating funding slashed by nearly 19 per cent during the past two years, and was the hardest hit by the United Conservative Party government's funding cuts to Alberta's post-secondary institutions.

The university and its academic staff association have been bargaining since 2020 but have yet to find a resolution after 35 formal negotiation sessions. The previous collective agreement expired on June 30, 2020.

Sticking points include compensation, job security for "very precariously employed" members and proposed changes to the academic pension plan, Mills said.

The association's 3,780 members have gone four years without a wage increase, he said.

Under the previous collective agreement, minimum salaries for assistant lecturers started at $63,100. Professors could earn as much as $158,600, according to a salary schedule outlined in the previous agreement.

The association is calling for a 2.25 per cent pay increase this July, 2.5 per cent in 2023, and another increase of up to 0.5 per cent, retroactive to July 1, 2023, to be paid in February 2024.

If the AASUA's calls for increased compensation are met, it would cost the university an additional $35 million over the remaining two years of the proposed four-year collective agreement, the association said. 

"The employer is saying 'no' to a cost-of-living increase and they're proposing changes that will end up gutting our benefits plan and reducing pension benefits for some of our members," Mills said.