Laurentian faculty go on strike Monday morning

Striking faculty members are seen Jan. 19 outside of Laurentian University in Greater Sudbury.

Faculty at Laurentian University hit the picket lines Monday, in the first labour disruption since the university emerged from insolvency.

In a message on its website, Laurentian said the campus is open, but classes are not being held because of the strike by the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA).

LUFA represents tenure-track faculty, limited-term faculty, master lecturers, librarians, sessionals, clinicians and professional staff at Laurentian University.

“All Laurentian University classes will be suspended temporarily,” LU said.

“Classes, labs, seminars and other activities led by faculty members and instructors both online and in-person will stop temporarily, but activities led by university staff (non-LUFA) will continue, including most student services.”

As well, non-credit additional qualifications courses and professional development courses, offered by the Centre for Teaching and Continuing Learning, will continue to be offered.

“This is not the outcome we had hoped for, and we understand that these events will provoke a range of emotions,” LU said.

‘Tremendously difficult few years’

“To our students, staff and faculty, please know that Laurentian University is fully committed to supporting you through this disruption.”

In a statement to CTV News, officials acknowledge the university has gone through “a tremendously difficult few years.”

“LUFA members have remained committed to Laurentian, and we have a deep appreciation for their efforts in restoring Laurentian to its current status and in charting its future,” the statement said.

“We continue our commitment to negotiating in good faith to find an agreement that is fair to LUFA members while protecting the long-term financial sustainability of the university.”

Officials said their offer to the union was “fair, reasonable, and sustainable in the circumstances.”

“The university’s proposed salary increases are beyond what is normative in the sector, and our offer includes improvements for LUFA members in key areas,” the statement said.

“In challenging economic times for universities, the administration and board must ensure that a new collective agreement will not compromise all the hard work that has been done to move the university forward over the past few years. Our primary responsibility is to make sure that Laurentian University is strong for the future.”

In its statement, LUFA said “its members were left with no other choice.”

“We made enormous sacrifices to keep Laurentian alive,” LUFA president Fabrice Colin said in the statement.

“Throughout the insolvency process, we did our part to save this institution. Our members endured job losses, the dismantling of our pension plan, wage rollbacks, and dramatically increased workloads. We did everything asked of us to help stabilize this university.”

Now that the financial situation has improved, Colin said it’s up to LU’s board of governors “to step up and do its part.”

“Laurentian is at the heart of northern Ontario,” said Colin.

Fair working conditions

“Our members live here and work here and contribute hugely to the community. We are asking for fair working conditions now -- not luxuries.”

“Our members never wanted to be here today,” he added.

“But we have been forced to this point by an employer unwilling to be part of our vision for a better, stronger Laurentian community, and a provincial government that has frankly abandoned northern Ontario.”

LUFA called on the board of governors “to restore and improve working conditions damaged by the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) process, recognize the huge sacrifices faculty, librarians, and professional staff made, and bargain in good faith.”

For its part, LU officials said they are “open and willing to continue negotiations if LUFA will return to the bargaining table.”

“We will provide daily updates as to the status of negotiations over the course of the next week. We also continue to update the list of frequently asked questions and encourage all Laurentian University community members to read through it carefully.”