After months of negotiations, members of the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association ratified an agreement Jan. 9 for a one-year settlement. The collective agreement, for April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002, contains modest improvements, which UWFA chief negotiator Ed Byard attributes to "bad timing." The UWFA negotiating team had a mandate to obtain a long-term agreement containing significant improvements to the salary scale and workload provisions. "We were in a difficult position," Byard said. "The board claimed the university's financial position was precarious and was unwilling to bargain long term." The agreement provides a $1,500 increase to the salary scales for all ranks, catch-up adjustments and full CDIs awarded for 2001-2002. "We attempted, within the limits of the money that was on the table, to address some of the salary scale inequities," Byard said. "It remains a high priority of UWFA to address other inequities in our salary scale in the contract covering 2002 and beyond." As well as improvements to benefits, the members' concerns over appointments, promotion and tenure were also addressed.