LOCAL 071 CHAPTER 005 - ALL STAFF
Your negotiating team recommends ratification; vote set for Oct. 6
An independent mediator has issued a report proposing terms for a new collective-bargaining agreement with Medicine Hat College.
Your negotiating team is disappointed but not surprised at what the mediator had to say.
Mediators look at what is happening with other workplace contracts in the sector and use that as a guideline. In Alberta, there have been 11 post-secondary collective-bargaining agreements signed recently, and the mediator’s recommendations follow those deals closely.
Adding to the challenges we faced in getting a better deal is that the Alberta government passed the Public Sector Employers Act in 2019 that allows it to set a mandate for post-secondary employers. Ignore that mandate, and the government could pull funding from the college.
With those limitations in mind, your negotiating team is reluctantly recommending you vote to accept the contract as proposed. A recent 41-day strike by faculty at the University of Lethbridge saw them settle for the same monetary deal that the mediator is recommending for us.
The monetary offer is:
- Effective July 1, 2020: 0% increase to wage rates.
- Effective July 1, 2021: 0% increase to wage rates.
- Effective July 1, 2022: 0% increase to wage rates.
- Effective April 1, 2023: 1.25% increase to wage rates for all positions.
- Effective Dec. 1, 2023: 1.5% increase to wage rates for all positions.
- Plus an additional 0.5% subject to the Gain Sharing Formula. * See below for gain-sharing formula.
There is an improvement in the proposed agreement regarding Special Leave days. If this agreement is ratified, you will be able to use three of the 10 Special Leave days for “personal reasons.” This removes restrictions in the current collective agreement.
In-person voting will be conducted on Oct. 6 at the campuses in Medicine Hat and Brooks.
Medicine Hat campus:
TIME: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6.
LOCATION: Room F156.
Brooks campus
TIME: 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6.
LOCATION: Room 104.
Your negotiating team will be available to answer questions before the vote, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. in Room F156 at the Medicine Hat campus. A Zoom link will be sent to the Brooks campus so members there can attend.
Pizza will be served at both meetings, please contact Lana West at lwest@mhc.ab.ca if there are any dietary concerns.
To help you make your decision, this bargaining update includes:
- A copy of the draft collective agreement (Medicine Hat College Draft Collective Agreement v1); and
- A summary of signed-off articles (MHC Summary of Signed Off Articles).
These have not been confirmed by the employer, so there could be minor changes.
Also included are:
- The mediator’s recommendations (1804 AUPE Medicine Hat College Mediator Recommendations.pdf);
- The Memorandum of Settlement (2022-08-31 MHC AUPE MO of settlement.pdf); and
- A copy of the legislation the Public Sector Employers Act (Public Sector Employers Act.pdf).
*Gain Sharing Formula: Alberta’s 20-year average (2000-2019) of Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 2.7%. Provided that the “Average of All Private Forecasts for Alberta’s Real GDP” for 2023 calendar year is at or above 2.7% as of February of 2024, then an additional 0.5% will be added to wages retroactively effective December 1, 2023. “Average of All Private Forecasts for Alberta’s Real GDP” for 2023 calendar year would be a simple average of Alberta’s Real GDP for 2023 across the following independent forecasting institutions: Conference Board of Canada • Stokes Economics • BMO Capital markets • CIBC World Markets • Laurentian Bank • National Bank • RBC Royal Bank • Scotiabank • TD Bank. The most recent publicly available forecast for Alberta’s Real GDP for 2023 would be sourced from each institution at the time the pay-out determination would be made in February 2024.
If you have questions, please contact a member of your negotiating team.
AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM – MEDICINE HAT COLLEGE
Lana West
lwest@mhc.ab.ca
Dean Studer
dstuder@ualberta.ca
Chrissie Mather
chrissieaupe@gmail.com
AUPE STAFF RESOURCES
Christian Tetreault Negotiations
c.tetreault@aupe.org
Terry Inigo-Jones Communications
t.inigo-jones@aupe.org