Support staff at Capilano University returned to their jobs on Monday after nearly two months of a full strike over work-from-home provisions.
Picket lines came down after CapU and the MoveUP Local 378 union reached a tentative agreement on Friday, with both parties accepting recommendations from a mediator on the return-to-work protocol, a document that outlines various logistics and agreed-upon stipulations following a strike.
“The agreement is one that works for the union, the university and most importantly, supports the students who have chosen to pursue their education at CapU,” read a statement from the school on Friday.
MoveUP also released a statement Friday stating that the tentative agreement had been reached. Support staff would be voting to ratify it in the coming days, with the result of the decision being made public next week, said a spokesperson from MoveUP.
While terms of the collective agreement were said to be worked out in a June 22 meeting, negotiations then focused on the return-to-work document. Especially at issue was language around if employees could be disciplined by the school for any actions during the strike.
According to documentation published by CapU on June 29, the union was “proposing language that offers blanket protection against possible discipline for employees whose conduct during the strike was unlawful. This would go against our values, the standards we hold ourselves to and the community we’ve built together.”
When asked this week about fears of staff facing future consequences – formal or informal – for their involvement in job action, the university pointed to its previously stated position that CapU has supported employees’ legal right to strike.
“To be clear, the university would never take action against employees for simply exercising that right or expressing opinions about the strike,” the school reiterated from a July 13 statement. “Claims of retaliation for employees who exercised their right to strike lawfully are completely unfounded.”
The union wouldn’t provide comment on the concerns expressed by individual members, “out of respect for the ratification process and as the tentative agreement is now in front of our membership, we want to ensure the focus is on their turn to vote,” a spokesperson said by email.
“We don’t want to influence that process – beyond recommending it. So our message right now is simply that it is time for members to vote – it is their decision,” the spokesperson continued. “Our union is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective agreement at Capilano University, and we are recommending ratification of the deal to our members.”
Staff were glad to be back on the job this week, as “they are passionate about their work and serving the campus community,” the union added.
Neither the union nor CapU would comment on details of the agreement prior to its ratification.
At the end of June, more than 500 CapU students had petitioned to end the strike. Around 4,300 students had classes cancelled after job action began on June 6.
On June 28, faculty employees who were honouring the strike chose to return to work, with the blessing of the striking union members, allowing for the second session of summer classes to move ahead in July.
