STU Crest

St. Thomas University Media Release

Communications and Media Relations
St. Thomas University
Fredericton, NB, E3B 5G3
Tel (506) 452-0522, Fax (506) 460-0335

 

Monday, January 3, 2005

St. Thomas University Contract Talks Reach Critical Stage

Fredericton – St. Thomas University President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Daniel O’Brien today said that contact talks between the University and its faculty union have reached a critical stage and the coming month would determine if there would be any resulting impact on students.

After more than one year of negotiations and a tentative agreement that was rejected by the faculty union in September, negotiations reached an impasse last month. By mid-January the faculty union will be in a position to schedule a strike vote or the administration will have the option for a lockout.

Dr. O’Brien said the administration would prefer a negotiated settlement that balances the interests of students, faculty and the university, but it could not agree to changes that alter the mission of St. Thomas University.

“The demand of the union for every professor to teach fewer courses is contrary to our mission to provide students with the best undergraduate liberal arts education. Our recent proposal offered a compensation increase of 20 percent, a plan to reduce class sizes by 15 percent, substantive support for research and means to lessen workload. It is a major improvement over the existing agreement and preserves our flexibility to address cost pressures on tuition while we continue to fund scholarships, student programs and campus facilities.”

“Whatever situation unfolds over the coming weeks, our priority will be to lessen the impact on students,” said Dr. O’Brien. The university today launched a website (www.stu-info.ca) with information on the negotiations. In the event of a disruption to classes, it will provide students and stakeholders with up-to-date information.

The University’s recent contract offer, which has the unanimous support of the Board of Governors, addresses the faculty’s concern about workload and research:

  • Reducing class size and addressing workload. While St. Thomas is already the only university in the region with a faculty contract that specifically limits class size, the offer will further reduce average class size by 15 percent. It will also provide professors with teaching and research assistance. New tenure track faculty will have reduced teaching load during their first year.
  • Supporting faculty research. St. Thomas has offered more course releases for faculty who receive research grants, a pool of course releases for faculty to develop research proposals and an increase to professional development allowances. Research is supported through a sabbatical leave program costing $1 million annually.
  • Offering competitive compensation. Faculty salary ranges are at the highest levels in the region with the average salary for a tenured professor at $82,000. With improvements to scales and salary, the proposal represents an increase of almost 20 percent.
  • Attracting and retaining qualified faculty. St. Thomas has hired 30 new faculty members in the past two years of which 15 have been for new positions. Five additional faculty positions will be filled by July 1, 2005.

Media Contact – Jeffrey Carleton, St. Thomas University, (506) 452-0522 or carleton@stu.ca.