Faculty at Université Sainte-Anne reached agreement late last month on a new union contract with the university after a two-and-a-half year struggle.
     
The association of professors and librarians had set a date in February to strike if no agreement could be reached between the negotiating teams. Last fall, Sainte-Anne faculty voted 98 per cent in favour of giving APPBUSA the mandate to strike if necessary.
     
Under the five-year contract union members ratified Feb. 7, professors and librarians will see salary increases of 3 per cent for the 2004– 2005 and 2005–2006 school years, and 7 per cent in each of the remaining three years. APPBUSA had pushed for significant increases to narrow the salary gap between Sainte-Anne and its comparators.
     
The deal also calls for a reduction in teaching load from seven courses to six and a boost in the maternity leave allowance. In addition, departments will now have a role in the decision-making process of developing on-line courses and courses taught live in the classroom will be protected.
     
Union president and chief negotiator Bryan Empson said his members would like especially to acknowledge the vital assistance of CAUT and thank members of the negotiating team for the extraordinary work on their behalf.
     
“I would like to thank the APPBUSA members for all their support throughout my time negotiating and my teammates Albert Dugas, Cynthia Robicheau and Lisette Tardif for a job well done,” he added. “Everyone stayed united and we have obtained what we wanted.”