Members of the McGill Association of Law Professors (AMPD) will go on strike on Thursday, having not reached an agreement in principle with the University, which it accuses of “deliberately” dragging its feet in the negotiations.
“McGill simply refuses to meet with us on a regular basis to negotiate in good faith with us,” laments Evan Fox-Decent, president of the AMPD, in an interview with The Press.
On April 9, the AMPD voted 76% in favor of an indefinite strike, if it did not reach an agreement in principle with the university by Thursday. “Our negotiations ended today at 5 p.m., at the request of McGill,” says Evan Fox-Decent, declaring the AMPD “on indefinite strike starting tomorrow.”
The association is negotiating its first collective agreement in 18 months with McGill University. A “very frustrating” process, according to the president of the union.
Evan Fox-Decent claims that McGill is deliberately dragging its feet in negotiations. The University had committed to meeting the union once a week, “but since last March, we have been lucky if they meet with us more than once a month,” underlines the president of the AMPD.
The AMPD judges that to date, very little progress has been made towards a collective agreement. “We have not received any substantial response to our proposals related to salaries and compensation,” indicates the president of the union.
McGill did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Equity and conditions of work
The association demands in particular greater participation in the election of collegial governance. “Right now, we have virtually no way to participate in this process,” laments Evan Fox-Decent.
The union’s other demands also relate to equity and the working conditions of teachers. According to Evan Fox-Decent, law school professor salaries have only increased 7% in the last five years. “Meanwhile, our faculty’s senior administration has benefited from a 65% salary increase over the past five years. », Adds the president of the AMPD.
If the AMPD and the University reach an agreement in principle, it would be the first collective agreement for professors at McGill. The university negotiates the working conditions of its employees through individual contracts. “An anomaly,” according to Evan Fox-Decent, who adds that the vast majority of universities have collective agreements for their professors.
The AMPD organized a one-day strike on February 13 to protest the slow pace of negotiations. The association deplored that McGill University “refuses to meet with our negotiating team on a frequent and regular basis, and during meetings, arrives unprepared and proceeds at a snail’s pace,” in a February 9 press release.