Unlimited strike: negotiations suspended until March 24 at Laval University

An extension of the session at Laval University is also more dreaded.

The first day of the unlimited general strike was under the theme of work-family balance. (Archival photos)

The Union of Professors and Professors of Laval University (SPUL) announced in a press release that negotiations have been broken off with management for a week. Discussions are suspended between the two parties until March 24.

We have advised our members that due to an impasse at the bargaining table between our committees, the conciliator appointed by the Ministry of Labor at the request of the Employer suspended negotiations until March 24, the SPUL then indicated.

The conciliator has been at the negotiating table since January 20.

Discussions clash over the hiring of 100 new professors, salary catch-up and the protection of academic freedom, according to the union.

We strongly denounce this breakdown in negotiations which occurs after three weeks of strike (not consecutive) in the context of a historic mobilization of professors at Laval University .

To mark the first week of the indefinite general strike, more than 600 people gathered in the auditoriums of the Charles De-Koninck Pavilion on the Université Laval campus.

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Over the past week, the SPUL bargaining committee has made significant efforts to get closer to the employer party, in particular on the salary issue, unfortunately without success , assures the union.

On this point, the management of Laval University retorts by affirming that since the beginning of the negotiations, no compromise has been made by the SPUL to find ways of passing on the financial requests. We must find common ground, as the Université de Sherbrooke and the Université du Québec en Outaouais have been able to do in recent weeks.

It is unfortunate that we are not able to get closer taking into account realistically the ability to pay of Laval University, wrote by email management to Radio-Canada in the evening.

The management assures that it wishes the success of its students, but the union increasingly fears the extension of the session.

In its email, management wished to recall that the collective agreement expired on December 1, 2022 and that negotiations began on September 1, 2022 in accordance with the letter of agreement signed for this purpose by the parties. The SPUL has called a strike after only 8 negotiation meetings.

• Students and professors fear an extended session at ULaval due to the strike

• Elected officials support striking professors at Université Laval

With information from Pascale Lacombe