Show your support for Lecturers at the University in their fight for fair wages and better working conditions by sending a message to Memorial University’s Administration, House of Assembly Members, and the Federal Minister of Labour.
Send a message now using the form linked here!
Let Memorial’s Administration know that you want student education to be made a real priority and that you are deeply disturbed by the spending priorities of Memorial University’s upper administration.
Both the Memorial students’ union, MUNSU, and the full-time faculty association, MUNFA, have declared support for LUMUN. The form letter to show your support is hosted on the New/Mode petition platform.
The Facts
Memorial has the capacity to pay Lecturers fairly
Memorial University administrators’ salaries per student are the highest in Canada at $2,369 per student (while the next highest salary in Canada is only $1,994 per student). That’s a huge amount of money going to senior administrators for every class taught, while very little goes to the lecturer teaching it. It is clear that that the resources exist to pay Lecturers fairly.
And what are the administration doing with the money they are getting? They have given themselves huge bonuses, and are spending money on frivolous activities or duplicated work (in one case spending more money on a single party with alcohol than is paid to a Lecturer for a whole course). They have been spending like this yet they have failed to prioritize education.
This is while infrastructure at the school crumbles and Lecturers have to work on near minimum wages when accounting for the time spent on work that actually goes into teaching a course.
What is the cause of the current bargaining impasse?
The cause of the bargaining impasse is the failure of the University to provide us with a fair financial package after huge delays. Our last collective agreement expired in 2020, 4 years ago, and a year ago LUMUN had to use conciliation as the only way to even get the University to the table.
We have been in conciliation for a year now and last November presented the University with the union’s financial proposal but did not receive their financial package for months despite giving them multiple times to present one. The package presented by the University, after they finally presented one, barely accounted for inflation – that’s when LUMUN Instructors are already poorly paid.
The University is very clearly delaying at this point and we are not willing to further sacrifice LUMUN members’ rights.
This is a serious issue, LUMUN members are massively underpaid as you know. Meanwhile senior administration at Memorial University have given themselves massive bonuses and are spending in a way that does not put education first as was revealed in a recent Auditor General’s report. You can find out more about that on our website.
What else has the Bargaining Team been asking for?
Better working conditions, protecting seniority and privacy, transparency, and a clear process for dealing with investigations and discipline. The Grievance Committee has had to deal with the Employer violations of discipline and privacy clauses and there is no process in place for investigations. Evaluations have been used for punitive purposes rather than the enrichment and positive guidance and support of teaching. The Administration has also accessed course shells in violation of the policy on accessing these on multiple occasions without notice to members.
What’s Wrong with Memorial’s Public Claims about Wages?
Claims expressed to the media that Memorial is offering a wage that represents an Atlantic Canadian average, or that they would rank 5th place, are wrong. Firstly, we know that LUMUN Lecturers are being paid far below the average pay for a course at Memorial University and that when you account for the hours necessary to effectively teach a course the pay can be near minimum wage. LUMUN has also seen the data for the Atlantic universities, and the Employer’s claim isn’t substantiated by the published wage rates and barely accounts for inflation from the current pay rates for Lecturers.
In short, based on data from Atlantic Canadian universities:
- The amount being offered is NOT the Atlantic Canadian average but far below it.
- The offer does NOT bring wages as high as 5th place among Atlantic Canadian universities.
- These claims miss the point, and fail to account for increased living costs and other factors.
Lecturers Are the Ones who Provide Student Education
While administrative salaries at Memorial are huge we aren’t seeing the benefit in the classroom or to infrastructure of those huge salaries. Why? Because it’s teachers who teach classes at Memorial. Prioritizing education means we can put our full effort into teaching – the thing we love most – rather than trying to find other ways to make ends meet.
We care about the education students receive, and fundamentally that’s what this is about. Will the university put money towards student education? Or is the top administration concerned primarily with their own wages and throwing expensive parties.
Take Action Now!
Show your support for Lecturers at the University in their fight for fair wages and better working conditions by sending a message!
If you are a Lecturer at Memorial and have questions about strike pay and other items, please consult our expanded fact sheet for members.
Lecturers' Union of Memorial University 