The McGill Association of Law Professors (AMPD) announced Tuesday morning that it is suspending its strike that began at the end of August, paving the way for a return to class which could, however, be short-lived.
In a message published Tuesday morning on
The agreement, she added in a subsequent message, “provides for the suspension of the strike to give the parties time to negotiate an agreement” according to which the university “will abandon its judicial review of our union”, and will accept the union accreditation of professors in the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts.
“If McGill does not accept, the strike will resume,” warns the AMPD.
In a message sent to students, McGill did not specify whether it was dropping its legal challenge to the Faculty’s right to unionize.
The interruption of the strike means that classes will resume by Thursday.
The agreement provides for the suspension of the strike to give the parties time to negotiate an agreement under which @umcgill will abandon its judicial review of our union and accept the accreditation of @AMPE_AMPE and AMPFA. If McGill does not accept, the strike will resume.
— @AMPL/AMPD (@AMPL_AMPD) October 1, 2024
In an email sent Monday to Faculty students, McGill University indicated that the union must agree to end its strike, otherwise it would cancel the courses given by these professors on Tuesday.
In a previous message published late Monday evening, the AMPD said it had “put forward a detailed return to work protocol which foresees what would happen for the rest of the semester”, arguing that the university “refuses to discuss with us.
“We therefore suggest that professors emphasize the central elements of each course in the time remaining in the semester. We also suggest that professors adjust assessments and exams to reflect the time remaining in the semester,” they wrote.
A question and answer sheet on the proposals sent by us and by @umcgill yesterday: https://t.co/KCqH7U46C7 In short: McGill made no concessions in its proposal yesterday, instead demanding that we unilaterally waive all of our rights.
— @AMPL/AMPD (@AMPL_AMPD) October 1, 2024
The Quebec Administrative Labor Tribunal accredited the AMPD in November 2022, but the union has not yet concluded its first collective agreement. The University had planned to contest union accreditation in Superior Court next December.
McGill’s Faculty of Law is the first group of professors to unionize at the University, although most non-teaching staff are unionized. Since the creation of the law professors’ union, their colleagues in the education and arts departments have also applied for union certification.
With The Canadian Press