During a General Assembly on May 15th, exam invigilators at McGill University approved an agreement-in-principle recently concluded before an arbitrator named by the Ministry of Labour. The agreement, which brings more than two years of negotiation to a close, is the first collective agreement for these employees.
The principal gains include, among others: a 6.5% wage increase after the contract is signed and an additional 2% in the second year; parental and social leave; paid 15-minute breaks, the establishment of a fair hiring and job-posting process and required training. The collective agreement will expire in 2015.
“Our members are satisfied that this long negotiation process is over,” reported Sunci Avlijas, a member of the Bargaining Committee. “We fully understand this this only our first collective agreement and we will start mobilizing for the next round of negotiations tomorrow so that we can keep improving our working conditions.”
The approximately 800 exam invigilators are members of AGSEM–McGill’s Teaching Union, which also includes the university’s teaching assistants and course lecturers. The union is affiliated with the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ–CSN) and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN). The union was accredited to represent exam invigilators in April 2010.
The FNEEQ brings together 33,000 members. It includes teaching staff in 34 private teaching establishments, 85% of CEGEP teachers as well as the vast majority of university course lecturers.
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For information:
France Désaulniers
Communications Advisor
FNEEQ-CSN
france.desaulniers@csn.qc.ca
514 219-2947
Facebook : FneeqCSN
Twitter: FneeqCSN
