Prince George, B.C. – A new agreement that sets the stage for a better era of labour relations has been ratified by the members of the University of Northern British Columbia Faculty Association and the University of Northern British Columbia.

“This agreement is historic,” said UNBC-FA President Dr. Paul Siakaluk. “It compensates our members fairly and establishes a baseline for productive future relations between UNBC and the UNBC-FA. And we reached it through bargaining, not through an arbitrator’s award. We appreciate the work of UNBC’s leaders who rolled up their sleeves to reach a negotiated settlement with our union.”

 “Upon becoming Interim President, one of the first calls I made was to my colleagues in the Faculty Association with a goal to rejuvenate our relationship and move forward under the principles of open communication and respect,” adds UNBC Interim President Dr. Geoffrey Payne. “I commend the Faculty Association leadership team and appreciate their willingness to renew our conversation. Over the past year we have developed a very strong foundation together upon which we can collectively build an improved labour relations environment leading into our University’s future.”

The parties reached a freely negotiated agreement outside of the arbitration process, which represents significant progress in their renewed relationship. The agreement runs from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023, which allows time for some additional required committee work.

Consistent with the 2019 Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate, the agreement includes general wage increases of 2% per year, a redesigned compensation framework more in line with other post-secondary institutions, and other improvements meant to foster a productive labour relations environment.

The agreement covers nearly 500 faculty, including professors, instructors, lecturers, sessional lecturers, librarians and senior lab instructors. It was reached under the B.C. government’s 2019 Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate, which supports government’s commitment to improve the services people count on, make life more affordable and invest in sustainable economic growth. The mandate is consistent with B.C.’s commitment to balanced budgets and sound fiscal management. It provides parties with the ability to negotiate conditional and modest funding to drive tangible service improvements for people in B.C.