UNBC strike – UBC & Royal Roads weigh in

As the University of Northern BC’s faculty and administration mull over the latest proposal to end the strike, a debate is growing.

A recent editorial written in the Prince George Citizen by Neil Godbout suggests that where you live determines what your wage should be and UNBC should just accept that their wage will be much lower than that of post-secondary schools like the University of British Columbia.

In response, President of UBC’s Faculty Association, Mark Mac Lean says where you live in BC shouldn’t dictate your salary so strongly.

“I think that idea of a ‘Northern Discount’, the idea that just because you live in Prince George, or some other Northern part of the province, that you’re worth less in your job, I think that’s something that I would certainly reject if I were living in the North,” he says.

But when asked about the fact that PG is considered a “transient community”, he says UNBC is still a young university that needs consistent leadership to keep that growth.

“I think for a university that it’s critical that the actual faculty members are the university, in the sense that they actually create the intellectual capital that is really what a university has to offer,” he says.

Mac Lean sums it up in blunt, but colourful fashion – “It’s like a flock of ducks is flying off, and then one of them is shot and falling and dying, that’s UNBC,” he says.

Back on campus, both bargaining teams agreed to meet again Saturday to discuss the offer.

There aren’t any details on how different that compensation package is than the previous “five and a half per-cent over five years” offer.

However, that deal is much the same as an offer recently ratified between Royal Roads’ faculty and administration in a similar dispute.

Ken Christie is the President of Royal Roads’ Faculty Association and says UNBC should not accept a five-point-five per-cent deal.

“They’ve been negotiating for about two-and-a-half years now, that’s what their members want if they want to challenge that, I think that’s what they should do,” he says. “Every institution is different, our bargaining agreement isn’t just about money, it’s also about different things like research and scholarship leave.”

Christie says it was difficult to put a strategy to action to negotiation, “Because in bargaining, you have to have something that the other side wants if it’s going to be successful,” he says. “The executive at Royal Roads wanted us to give up part of our vacation leave, in terms of accrual , if you have to pay it out, it becomes a lot of money, $3 to $4 million dollars in unpaid vacation leave, so they desperately wanted to come to a solution, that’s what tipped the balance, in the end, we had something they wanted, they had something we wanted, that’s where the real bargaining takes place.”

Meanwhile, students are rallied on campus outside of the office of President Daniel Weeks, demanding to know if the semester is cancelled and the state of their tuition.

Another student rally supporting faculty is also scheduled for the Court House steps Saturday at noon.

(Photo courtesy UBC.ca)