WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Labour Board has ruled that the University of Manitoba committed an unfair labour practice during bargaining with the university’s faculty association in the fall of 2016.
The board has ordered the university to pay the association up to $2,000 and each of its members up to $2,000 for interfering with their rights under the province’s Labour Relations Act.
The university must also issue a written apology to all parties concerned, including professors, instructors and librarians.
The faculty association filed a complaint at the height of a three-week strike in November 2016, stating the university had failed to disclose that the new Progressive Conservative government had asked the university to freeze faculty salaries.
The university says in a statement that it’s disappointed with the board’s finding and that it’s considering options, including potentially applying for a reconsideration of the decision.
The university and faculty association ratified a four-year collective agreement last year, which includes no wage increase in the first year, followed by 0.75 per cent and one per cent raises in the second and third years.