Students at Memorial University are disappointed with how administration is handling the strike, accusing it of fearmongering.
The approximate 800 faculty members are on the picket lines, meaning the majority of classes have been cancelled—at least for now. Those taught by per-course instructors will continue.
Memorial University’s Student’s Union is calling on university administration to reach “a fair and equitable deal with MUNFA.”
MUNSU is calling on MUNL to keep student concerns, accommodations and services central to any strike action responses, and that Memorial take immediate action to provide academic amnesty to students who are in the position of having to cross the picket line to attend courses.
They’re also calling on MUNL to extend academic and financial deadlines and that refunds be provided to students who decide to drop the semester or leave resident housing.
John Harris of MUNSU says the work stoppage is of great concern to the province’s 11,000 students.
He says the university made it seem like crossing a picket line was a safety issue when students and faculty exist side-by-side every day and students have no such concerns. He calls that fearmongering. Harris says administration is also telling foreign students that if the strike lasts for 150 days that they will have to leave the country.
Luke Ashworth of MUNFA says they have no plans to interfere with people crossing the picket line.
Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president academic at MUN, says the offer on the table is a generous one, boosting maternity benefits to their current pay scale for the full 52 weeks and increasing compensation by 12 per cent over four years. They would also get paid more for teaching additional courses.
They would go up immediately by 24 per cent and continue to rise to September 2025.
He says they added a signing bonus for all term appointments who have been employed in the last two years, and reduced teaching load for committee-type work.
There is an increase in professional development support for term positions and regular faculty positions.
There will be changes to some services at the Queen Elizabeth II Library as some staff are represented by MUNFA. @VOCMNEWS
Details can be found here: https://t.co/uxRa1mYgoM pic.twitter.com/2mARxfbXUO
— Sara Strickland (@_SaraStrickland) January 30, 2023
Some services at Queen Elizabeth II Library have been disrupted due to the MUNFA strike.
While the library was open on day one of the strike, the popular study spot was bare on Monday morning.
Some library staff are working regular hours, but library researchers, who are represented by MUNFA, were outside the facility on the picket lines.
Working staff say they’ll do their best to fill in any gaps but students can expect delays in services.
Library hours are subject to change during the strike.
This time Friday, these hallways would be filled with students heading to class. Today, it’s a ghost town. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/Weov1I4zRb
— Sara Strickland (@_SaraStrickland) January 30, 2023
Courses offered through Memorial University’s School of Nursing program have been paused during the current labour dispute. Memorial University is monitoring the impact of the strike on academic programs and developing plans to help ensure students are able to complete their semester.
In the meantime, Memorial has posted relevant information to MUN Medical students online regarding the strike and possible impacts on programs and classes.
