Non-striking workers at the university are shaking their heads after being told that they are not permitted to join MUNFA on the picket lines on their lunch hour. The labour movement is not taking kindly to the directive.
This is day four of the strike by over 800 members of MUNFA with no talks in the works. There has been some movement on one of the three issues—governance. However, neither party has budged on salary for MUNFA members and the status of per-course instructors.
NAPE represents four separate categories of workers at MUN including enforcement officers, maintenance and food service personnel. President Jerry Earle doesn’t believe the university has the authority to dictate what an employee does on their own time.
He says what a person does on their breaks is up to them and that joining a picket line does not mean that they left their post. Earle scoffed the last time he was told what to do when he was on break was in grade 6. He’s calling on MUN to treat their workers as adults.
Alison Coffin, communications spokesperson with the Lecturers Union, says the directive would not apply to her as she is paid per course and not for lunch hours.
She has to go to class but she can picket on the way to class or from class.