Université du Québec en Outaouais: the teachers rejected the last offer of the employer and brandish the threat of a strike

News 16 February, 2018

QMI agency

Friday, 16 February 2018 21:46

UPDATE
Friday, 16 February 2018 21:46

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GATINEAU – The professors of the University of Quebec in Outaouais (UQO) have rejected the counter-offer from their employer, in a proportion of 71 % in a vote held on Friday.

“We rejected this counter-offer to the administration because we refuse to sacrifice the democracy of association, the equity of treatment between the professors of Saint-Jerome and Gatineau, the professional induction of new teachers, the recourse to justice in the face of violations by the administration of the UQO to the labour Code and the wage despising that would make us teachers, the least well paid of the network of the University of Quebec, asserted Louise Briand, president of the Union of professors of the University of Quebec in Outaouais-CSN (SPUQO).

“We think this is the last offer derisory, disrespectful of the work of teachers and the reality of the university community as a whole.”

Union members have also voted Friday to submit the last proposal union to an arbitrator from the ministry of Labour. The members have also adopted a resolution that a general strike “if there is no agreement in principle is not agreed upon as of the date of 10 march next, or if the university has not signed the form prescribed by the ministry of Labour in order to obtain the appointment of an arbitrator of a dispute to the same date”.

Friday, after the vote, the direction of the UQO was “very disappointed” in the rejection of its bid. “The offer made by the employers’ side was at the limit of what the UQO can offer,” said the university in a press release.

Regarding the threat of a strike, the institution has stated that “this decision, if finalized, would have significant consequences, both for students and students for the whole university community”.

The union has about 250 members.

The collective agreement of the teachers at UQO is due since the 1st of may 2015. The vote Friday puts an end to the process of negotiation and conciliation between the parties, stressed the UQO.