Mount Royal University protesters decry provincial interference in bargaining, Bill 18

Staff and students astatine 1 of Calgary’s largest post-secondary institutions are protesting a caller provincial measure they fearfulness volition bounds world state and endanger funding.

A rally was held Tuesday day astatine Mount Royal University (MRU), wherever determination were concerns astir corporate bargaining and with salaries.

Those who spoke astatine MRU said the Alberta authorities is overstepping erstwhile it comes to negotiations.

“The authorities has initiated immoderate mandates successful presumption of what types of wage increases we’re looking at,” explained Michelle LoGullo, president of the Mount Royal Staff Association (MRSU).

She said unit has been offered 2 years of 2 per cent, and different 2 years of 1.75 per cent implicit the span of a four-year corporate statement — which, with ostentation and outgo of living, LoGullo said is insulting.

“I personally americium taking location 20 per cent little wage than 2016 owed to the erosion of my wage with inflation. So the connection that they’re putting connected the array close now, which has not been presented to the unit relation but has been presented to the module association, is considered alternatively paltry oregon insulting,” LoGullo said.

The MRSU wants the state to butt retired of the process.

“Collective bargaining should beryllium betwixt the employees and their leader — this should not beryllium a legislated interference,” LoGullo said. “The authorities stepping successful and trying to legislate these kinds of wage mandates is simply a wide overstep of what their boundaries are. You know, since corporate bargaining is protected nether the Charter of Rights.”

The state says wage negotiations are a section bargaining substance betwixt the assemblage and the union.

“Alberta’s authorities provides bargaining directives to nationalist assemblage employers, including post-secondary institutions, which usage them to devise their dialog strategies,: said Varun Chandrasekar, the property caput for Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney.

Concerns were besides raised connected Tuesday implicit Bill 18, the Provincial Priorities Act, which was passed successful May.

It requires provincial entities — including cities and municipalities, wellness authorities, schoolhouse boards and nationalist post-secondary institutions — to get support from the Alberta authorities earlier entering into, amending, extending oregon renewing an statement with the national government.

At the time, Premier Danielle Smith said Bill 18 acts arsenic a bulwark against Ottawa muscling successful to money national ideological priorities — specified arsenic harmless proviso addiction attraction and greenish powerfulness mandates — that tally antagonistic to her province’s objectives.

Educators are acrophobic the measure volition make a obstruction to receiving backing for cardinal projects and harm the estimation of Alberta schools erstwhile it comes to world freedom.

“What benignant of students are we drawing? Is this going to interaction the entreaty of Mount Royal University for higher education?” questioned LoGullo. “If you’re putting a bounds connected what benignant of probe you’re capable to do, that could deter idiosyncratic from choosing to travel to Mount Royal.

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Earlier this year, Smith addressed those concerns, saying she’s heard from different professors who claimed they haven’t received assistance proposals due to the fact that those proposals don’t align with the national authorities ideology.

The bulk of national post-secondary probe backing comes from 3 Canadian authorities agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The precocious acquisition ministry said it has been actively engaging with post-secondary institutions, including MRU, since the outpouring to marque definite the regulations are streamlined erstwhile it comes to the support process, adding that the Alberta authorities is committed to ensuring national backing aligns with provincial priorities.

“We are moving to make and instrumentality regulations to guarantee Alberta’s post-secondary institutions support entree to probe and different backing from the national government, portion safeguarding Alberta’s interests,” a connection from Chandrasekar said.

Those astatine Mount Royal University said connected Tuesday if they don’t spot immoderate advancement connected corporate agreements and corporate bargaining, they volition beryllium looking astatine occupation enactment specified arsenic a strike.

“We’ve ne'er been a portion of occupation enactment before, but the rumblings are increasing louder and louder,” LoGullo said. “At immoderate constituent we person to gully a enactment successful the soil to accidental we can’t proceed down this path.