After 15 conferences, the College of Lethbridge board of governors and its college affiliation stay at an deadlock with regards to a brand new collective bargaining settlement and at the moment are shifting to mediation to unravel their variations.
Either 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, optimistic and constructive labour relations software, 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 could do formal mediation,” O’Donnell mentioned. “For those who begin with casual mediation, mainly you’re utilizing up time and money that the college and the union might 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 can lead us to a conclusion.”
O’Donnell additionally calls mediation a “optimistic step,” however says the ULFA is disillusioned in the way it was introduced.
“It’s a sign that negotiations haven’t been going in addition to in earlier years, but it surely’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 very fact, then two days later they informed us that they had utilized for mediation… that’s unlucky.”
“Our objective 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 critical to make extra significant progress.”
Based on O’Donnell, the principle sticking factors embrace educational freedom and a retroactive 4 per cent rollback to school pay.
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