Throughout 10 months of negotiations, UPEI Administration has used much of our time at the negotiations table to discuss – often in painstaking detail – UPEI Faculty Association (UPEIFA) bargaining proposals. At the time, UPEI’s lead negotiator made it clear that these extended discussions were absolutely vital for ensuring that UPEI Administration understood the proposals and was in a position to craft a reasonable and informed counter proposal.

All that seems to have changed …

At the end of the day on the last day of scheduled negotiations (February 28), UPEI Administration provided the UPEI Faculty Association with a number of new proposals – some significantly different from previous proposals. The following day, UPEI Administration sent an email to the campus community with additional details about their new proposals that had not been provided to the UPEIFA.

Recognizing that the parties still remained far apart in negotiations, and that clarification on the new proposals was necessary before a response could be crafted, the UPEIFA formally requested that the parties schedule additional dates for negotiations.

Despite UPEI Administration’s public commitment to pursuing any avenue to prevent a labour dispute, on March 3 they notified the UPEIFA that they did not believe that further negotiation meetings were likely to lead to a timely settlement. Instead, UPEI’s lead negotiator demanded that we respond to their latest proposals without further discussion and via email.

The UPEIFA’s response to UPEI Administration [PDF].

To be clear, the UPEIFA is committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement that is acceptable to all the parties. Over the next 10 days, we are willing to meet anytime and anywhere to negotiate a new collective agreement.

UPEI Administration, why won’t you meet with us?