Job action has halted all classes at Capilano University in North Vancouver.
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A statement on the university’s website says classes are suspended at both the main campus and Sechelt campus on the Sunshine Coast.
MoveUP, which represents the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 378, says on its website that talks between the university and union collapsed over continued demands for concessions.
The university said in a statement Tuesday it met with a mediator and union representatives twice in May and offered a revised deal that included wage increases of 12 to 13 per cent over a three-year term and a wellness stipend of $300 a year for regular employees.
MoveUP rejected the offer over the issue of the specifics of remote work, said the university. On Tuesday, the faculty association joined picket lines in solidarity and classes were cancelled.
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The university said it hopes to come to a negotiated agreement under the province’s shared recovery mandate, which has led to deals for 91 per cent of public sector workers.
The job action comes as the B.C. Finance Ministry announces agreements affecting about 2,100 public sector CUPE support staff at five post-secondary institutions in B.C. The three-year mandates cover Canadian Union of Public Employees support staff at Vancouver Island University, Camosun and North Island colleges, as well as the College of the Rockies and the College of New Caledonia.
Workers will receive total wage increases of just under 11 per cent over the life of the deal, which is retroactive to April 2022, and contains cost-of-living adjustments and benefits such as Indigenous cultural leave and improved mental-health supports.
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Capilano University said convocation season will go ahead as planned for graduating students with ceremonies Wednesday through Friday this week.
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