After 15 conferences, the College of Lethbridge board of governors and its college affiliation stay at an deadlock in relation to a brand new collective bargaining settlement and are actually transferring to mediation to resolve their variations.
Each side have been negotiating since January, earlier than the board’s negotiating group knowledgeable the school affiliation it has filed a request with the Alberta Relations Labour Board for casual mediation.
An replace on the college’s web site reads, partially: “Casual mediation is a longtime, constructive and constructive labour relations instrument, which helps each events within the collective bargaining course of.
“Casual mediation permits the events to retain management over the decision-making course of and it assists the events in amicably reaching mutually acceptable agreements.”
The ULFA is now asking for a proper mediation course of.
School affiliation president Dan O’Donnell says the union feels that methodology will result in a extra direct decision.
“The one distinction is that you should do formal mediation,” O’Donnell mentioned. “Should you begin with casual mediation, mainly you’re utilizing up time and cash that the college and the union may use for higher issues. Our feeling is on condition that we’re nearly 500 days since our collective settlement expired, we must always simply get into the method that may lead us to a conclusion.”
O’Donnell additionally calls mediation a “constructive step,” however says the ULFA is upset in the way it was introduced.
“It’s a sign that negotiations haven’t been going in addition to in earlier years, however it’s a good suggestion that either side are taking a look at mediation,” O’Donnell mentioned.
“The request for mediation was made by administration with out even alerting us to the actual fact, then two days later they instructed us they’d utilized for mediation… that’s unlucky.”
“Our purpose is to proceed to discount in good religion with ULFA and to reach at an settlement that’s mutually acceptable to the board and ULFA,” the assertion from the board’s negotiating group continues.
“The board negotiation group believes the help of a impartial and goal third-party mediator is important to make extra significant progress.”
In accordance with O’Donnell, the principle sticking factors embody tutorial freedom and a retroactive 4 per cent rollback to college pay.
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