T h e M c G ill
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T r ib u n e Published by the Tribune Publication Society Volume No. 31 Issue No. 1
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
6-7 MEET THE SSMU-SHIES 9 EDITORIALS 12-13 ACTIVITIES NIGHT 17 JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 21 BASKETBALL 24 FROSH PHOTOS
MEET THE EXECS
PAGES 6-7
MUNACA on strike after negotiations with administration fail
MUNACA workers picketing outside of Roddick Cates on Thursday, Sept. 1 . (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune)
N o n - a c a d e m i c c e r t if ie d s t a f f w a l k o u t o n j o b a f t e r r e p e a t e d a t t e m p t s t o r e s o l v e c o n t r a c t c o n f l i c t s By Anand Be ry __________
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News Editor
Members of the McGill Uni versity Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), the union representing McGill University’s non-academic workers, went on strike Wednesday after the union and the university’s administration failed to reach an agreement on is sues of compensation. Negotiations
began in November 2010. Picketing began at 6 a.m. on Thursday Sept. 1, and continued through the end of the work day on Tuesday. Picket lines have appeared along many campus entrances, in cluding the intersection of McTavish andSherbrookeas well as atboth the Roddick andMilton gates. The workers group, whose membershipcomprises 1,700McGill employees, is calling for changes to
McGill’s current proposal on three issues in particular: pensions and benefits, the wage scale, and over time compensation. With regard to the latter, MUNACA is asking for a 25 per cent increase in base pay for hours worked on Saturdays and 50 per cent for hours worked on Sun days. “The core issues are the protec tions to our benefits and pensions ... and premiums (night and week
end),” Kevin Whittaker, the presi dent of MUNACA said. “What we want is what every other university [in Quebec] is offering.” Inresponsetothegroup’sclaims that its members are compensated unfairly compared to other univer sities in Quebec, McGill University has asserted that, overall, their offer for compensation is comparable to that of other institutions. “When you compare workers
in one university tothose in another, you need to compare the total com pensation package,” Morton Men delson, Deputy Provost (Student Life &Learning) said. “And that in cludes pay, progression through the ranks, the time of work, length of vacations, pension, and benefits.” “McGill’s position is that MU NACA workers are currently re ceiving comparable compensation See “MUNACA" on page 3