Sherbrooke, QC – Five unions, which together represent 5,300 of the 6,700 employees of Sherbrooke University, are currently in collective bargaining negotiations. SEESUS (support and research personnel), APAPUS (professionals and research professionals), SCCCUS (lecturers), SPPUS (professors) and AIPSA (engineering lecturers and professors) have joined forces to press the administration to reach negotiated agreements that provide competitive working conditions to all university employees.
The five unions are calling upon their members to attend a demonstration to take place at both the main and the Longueuil campuses on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, from noon onward. This demonstration is intended to be a show of solidarity in support of the various talks currently underway.
Over the years, Sherbrooke University has fared much better than other Quebec universities in terms of its ability to control its accumulated deficit. This is largely due to the efforts made by university employees to support development projects, which more often than not are carried out without the benefit of additional resources.
On behalf of their members, the five unions are together demanding that the administration take these contributions into account in its bargaining. As such, any offers whose provisions merely echo the standards set forth in the government’s wage policy are sorely inadequate.
It is important to note that the government itself has sidestepped its own guidelines in this regard and signed agreements offering benefits over and above those outlined in the wage policy. The administration of the Université de Sherbrooke needs to assert itself as an independent institution by providing conditions that are acceptable to its staff members.
For more information, please contact:
Robert Ouellet
CUPE-SCFP Communications
819-821-8000, extension 65024