On August 25th, York University Staff Association sent the President of York University, Rhonda Lenton, a letter on behalf of YUSA, YUFA, CUPE 1356 and CUPE 3903, calling on her to renegotiate our wages now in light of Bill 124 being struck down. The letter is as follows:
Rhonda Lenton
President and Vice Chancellor
York University
Dear Rhonda,
During the last round of collective bargaining, members of YUFA, YUSA, CUPE 1356, and CUPE 3903 were all subject to the wage moderation provisions of Bill 124, which capped increases to total compensation to 1% per year for three years.
The University agreed to wage reopener clauses in our collective agreements that stipulated that if Bill 124 was struck down and not subject to appeal, the parties would renegotiate our salaries and total compensation.
After the ratification of our collective agreements, The Ontario Superior Court of Justice did strike down Bill 124 and declared that it violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government has appealed this decision, however currently Bill 124 is void and of no effect and no longer part of the law in Ontario.
Other universities and colleges in Ontario have recognized this fact by agreeing to re-negotiate wages and compensation which had previously been subject to the 1% wage moderation cap.
For example, in June of 2023 the University of Western Ontario agreed to amend the contract for faculty, despite the fact that their contract had already been ratified and was not set to expire until 2026. UWO agreed to wage and other compensation increases above and beyond the originally agreed upon 1%.
McMaster University has also agreed to provide faculty with wage increases to base beyond the originally agreed upon 1%, despite having a contract that was in effect from 2022 to 2025.
Other universities such as TMU, Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier, and Trent have also made agreements that increase compensation above the previously legislated 1% compensation cap.
Most recently, on August 15, the College Employer Council agreed to increase wages by an additional 6.5% over the period of 2021-24.
We believe this is an opportunity for the York administration to signal that it wishes to maintain a competitive compensation structure and that its employees deserve no less appreciation and respect than their counterparts at these other institutions. We also urgently need to address the fact that our members’ real wages have declined in that they have not kept pace with the high levels of inflation.
We therefore call on the University to immediately commence negotiations with our unions with the aim of providing fair and equitable increases to wages and compensation and implement any agreed upon increases as soon as possible.
The thousands of staff and faculty who work at York University and are represented by our Unions stand in solidarity in seeking fair compensation and we look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Sonny Day
President, York University Staff Association
Arthur Hilliker
President, York University Faculty Association
Stephanie Latella
Chairperson, CUPE 3903
Walter Silva
President, CUPE 135