Impasse continues between NAIT and AUPE
EDMONTON – The impasse in bargaining between the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology continues after a meeting between the two sides’ bargaining teams on May 13 proved fruitless.
“NAIT continues to refuse to table an offer that our members consider fair and reasonable,” said AUPE Staff Negotiator John Wevers, who leads the Local 038 bargaining committee. The local represents more than 1,000 non-academic employees of the Edmonton-based post-secondary institution.
“This is very disappointing and frustrating given our historically good relationship with this employer,” Wevers said. “In this round of bargaining, NAIT continues to perpetuate workplace inequity and differential terms and conditions for our members.”
“There have been several recent comparable settlements with other employers in Alberta that could be a model for an agreement with NAIT, including the Alberta Cancer Board, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Edmonton Public School Board,” he added.
“These other settlements recognize the extremely tight labour market in Alberta and the need to retain employees and recruit new staff so that workloads can be reduced,” he said.
“NAIT employees shouldn’t have to wait months for a fair agreement that reflects the economic conditions that currently affect all Albertans to be imposed by compulsory interest arbitration,” Wevers said. “NAIT should get back to the table and place an appropriate agreement before our members.”
The union applied for arbitration after three days of mediation between AUPE and NAIT in January failed to produce an agreement.
The two sides remain far apart on several monetary issues, including salary rates of pay, incremental adjustments and retention bonuses.
Other issues of concern to AUPE members that NAIT has not addressed include:
- Implementation of an additional pay grid
- Improvements to shift differential and weekend shift premiums
- Implementation of a Flexible Health Benefits Spending Account, now found in numerous collective agreements
- Improvements to the Employee Training Fund
The current collective agreement expired on June 30, 2007.
Local 038 members work at NAIT’s main Edmonton campus and its satellite campuses in communities throughout northern Alberta.
30
For additional information, contact:
John Wevers, Union Representative, AUPE, 780-930-3349 or 780-232-9820 (cellular phone)
Mark Wells, Communications Officer, AUPE, 780-930-3406
AUPE Offices can be reached by calling toll free – 1-800-232-7284.