Saskatoon: For the second time in three months, the University of Saskatchewan is facing another unfair labour practice charge over its refusal to complete a gender-neutral job evaluation plan for university workers.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees filed the complaint with the labour relations board on Friday, after the U of S sent material to union members publicizing pay gains under its home-made job evaluation plan.
CUPE 1975, which represents about 2,100 university workers at the U of S, says the university is trying to bribe members into accepting a cheap fix instead of a fair pay system.
For all of its lofty talk, the University of Saskatchewan is getting a reputation for its chauvinistic attitudes towards working women, says CUPE 1975 President Glenda Graham.
The U of S wants to be among the most distinguished universities in Canada and in the world, but the most distinguishing feature we see on this campus is its refusal to address gender-based pay discrimination.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) originally filed two unfair labour practices and a grievance against the U of S in November, after it refused to complete the joint job evaluation process with the University of Regina (U of R) and CUPE.
All three parties signed an agreement in September 1998, to develop a joint job evaluation process to achieve wage parity and pay equity for CUPE 1975 members at the two universities. But just as the process was nearing completion last fall, the U of S cut and ran stating it would develop its own pay system.
The universitys unilateral and arbitrary actions violate the collective agreement and the Trade Union Act, says Don Puff, CUPE 1975 President on the U of R campus. The U of S signed a trilateral agreement and we are going to ensure they keep it, he adds.
The union wants the labour relations board to order the U of S to return to the job evaluation table to complete negotiations on the joint job evaluation plan.
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For more information contact:
Glenda Graham or Don Puff at 966-7015.