Compensation negotiations

Collective bargaining at the University of Waterloo is handled differently from most post-secondary institutions in Ontario and Canada. Compensation negotiations at the University of Waterloo are limited to:

• the annual scale change in members’ salaries,
• changes in the salary structure,
• anomalies and other special salary increases,
• changes to the Faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement Plan,
• “other benefits specific to Members” (10.2, Memorandum of Agreement), and
• changes to benefits defined in University policies and/or administered by the Pensions and Benefits Committee.

All other matters are covered in policy and the Memorandum of Agreement, overseen by the Faculty Relations Committee.

Compensation settlements are negotiated by three-person teams from each of the Faculty Association and the University. They may be for one, two or three years.

Bargaining timeline

By June 15 of the year before the current settlement expires, the President of FAUW and the President of the University must agree upon a list of possible mediators and arbitrators.

By November 15 of the same year, each party must inform the other of the names of their Chief Negotiator and the other two members of their negotiating team.

By December 1 at the latest, negotiations must begin.

If the parties have not reached an agreement by February 1, an external mediator will be appointed. (If both parties agree, mediation can be waived.)

If, by March 1, an agreement has not been reached, an arbitrator will be appointed.

By March 15, arbitration must commence. One week prior to the hearing, each party submits a proposed memorandum of settlement. The arbitrator is obliged to choose one of the two proposals, and this will become the new settlement.

For the fine print, please consult the Memorandum of Agreement.