Members of Memorial University’s Faculty Association have voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action.
The union says the turnout for the strike vote was an historic 93 per cent of the membership.
The strike mandate means MUNFA members can walk off the job at any time, but in consultation with the negotiating committee the executive committee has set a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 30.
MUNFA President Ash Hossain says talks began one year ago and “administration has been unprepared at every turn to make a fair deal.”
(Isabel Ojeda of MUNSU.)
Meanwhile, MUN administration says a conciliation officer is booked for Jan. 23-25 to continue negotiations between the two sides.
But if a strike does happen, they say an alert will be sent via MUN Safe and an email will be sent to all members of the university community.
MUN says it recognizes the critical role that faculty play within the university and they’re optimistic they can find common ground to reach an agreement.
Memorial’s student union is fully behind the faculty association’s decision.
Isabel Ojeda, executive director of campaigns for MUNSU, says students are concerned, but they aren’t putting the blame on the faculty.
She says these frustrations have to be put back on the administration. She says they have left students and faculty behind a lot in the past two years, and students are just looking for some leadership and accountability from the university.
