Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador Receive Overwhelming Strike Mandate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2018

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador Receive Overwhelming Strike Mandate

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR–The Lecturers’ Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (LUMUN), who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), held strike votes earlier this month and received an overwhelming strike mandate from their members.

The news has been shared with the union membership. Although details about the strike vote are confidential, the local president, Martha Wells, feels confident knowing the union members are willing to take strike action in order to obtain better working conditions: “Our members have had enough, and their obvious dissatisfaction was demonstrated in the strike vote mandate they gave us. They are willing to take workplace action because we can’t continue working under precarious work conditions and barely making ends meet. We hope the employer will come back to the bargaining table with a new and reasonable offer. Workplace action is our last resort, but we will exercise our democratic right to strike if that’s what it takes.”

LUMUN which represents two bargaining units; roughly 270 per course instructors (PCIs) and about 90 postdoctoral fellows at MUN have been at the bargaining table since April 2017. A conciliator was appointed in August but was not successful in helping both parties reach an agreement. On October 10 the university’s administration made a final offer to LUMUN which was rejected by its two bargaining teams.

The main outstanding issues are related to salaries and benefits.

-30-

For further information or to pre-schedule interviews:
Sébastien Bezeau, Regional Political Communications Officer, PSAC, (cell) 902.266.8589