U of Manitoba Union Votes to Strike

WINNIPEG - The University of Manitoba Faculty Association says the majority of its members have voted in favour of going on strike.

The labour union says 85 per cent of ballots cast during the three-day voting process that started on Saturday were in support of a walkout. But the UMFA notes that the outcome of the vote doesn’t guarantee that strike action will be taken.

The union says it wants changes, including higher wages, to help recruit and retain more instructors, professors, and librarians and to make employment at the university more competitive among Canada’s 15 research universities.

The U of M has over 1,200 staff and 30,000 students. 1,088 UMFA members voted.

The university had initially offered a three-year contract beginning this year that would increase salaries by 0.75 per cent, 0.75 per cent, and one per cent. In mid-October, it increased the offer, adding a year: one per cent in years one and two, and 1.25 per cent in years three and four. The administration and the UMFA have been negotiating since August.