Montreal, Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - The QFL and its principal affiliate, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, consider the agreement, ratified on Monday evening by some 350 lecturers at the Universit 0064u Qub0065c 0054rois-Rivir0065s, a significant break-through in the struggle against job insecurity, not only for some 8,000 lecturers at other universities in Quebec, but also for all casual workers. This statement was made by Henri Mass,0020President of the QFL and Pierre Dupuis, CUPE’s Director for Quebec and party to the negotiation.
Breaching the Wall of Insecurity
“The break-through achieved by the UQTR lecturers, members of CUPE Local 2661, against the solid wall of insecurity which reigns in the university teaching sector is considered by the QFL to be highly significant.
“By introducing the concept of seniority, salary scales and the consideration of diplomas in establishing wage schedules, this regulation has broken the pattern of teaching by the session, at a set rate to which the lecturers have been subjected for almost 30 years,” said Henri Mass,0020after studying the regulation ratified earlier this week.
Catch-up Wage Increase: a Long-Term Process
“Over the past few days, there has been a great deal of discussion concerning the major catch-up wage increase assigned to the UQTR lecturers by this regulation. But it is important to remember that the path which led to this achievement was long. During an earlier bargaining session, the parties had agreed to submit the question of the disparity between the salaries paid to regular professors and to lecturers to the Institut de la statistique du Qub0065c (ISQ, the IRIR at the time).
“The ISQ found these disparities to be as high as 102% for equivalent teaching workloads. We are still far from such a catch-up increase, but we’ve come a long way with the present regulation. It will serve as a solid bargaining base for the future,” said Pierre Dupuis.
Consolidation of the Lecturers’ Status
“By distributing courses on an annual rather than sessional basis, and by introducing a new category of annual lecturers with exclusive employment rights at the University, we are promoting increased availability and recognizing the task of coaching students which, in the past, was an entirely voluntary duty.
“We are well aware that, for students, the learning process is not limited to three hours of weekly classes, but requires a regular follow-up and contact with the professor outside the formal classroom, so it is easy to understand the impact the regulation will have on the quality of studies as well as on the lecturers’ professional satisfaction,” added CUPE’s Quebec Director.
A Regulation which Opens a Door
“We ardently hope that, in their current negotiations, the 8,000 lecturers at other Quebec universities and other components at the Universit 0064u Qub0065c, will benefit from the UQTR lecturers’ settlement, obtained after a strike which lasted over two months,” concluded Henri Mass.003cP>It should be noted that CUPE, the largest QFL affiliate, with 95,000 members in Quebec, also represents close to 8,000 support employees in most of the universities in Quebec.
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SOURCE: QFL AND CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Information:
Louis Cauchy: Tel.: (514) 235-3996
Louis Fournier: Tel.: (514) 862-0656
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