On Monday November 1st, 2021, the Essential Services Agreement (ESA) between ULFA and the Board was signed by both parties. The current agreement closely resembles our previous ESA and includes the same services performed by academic staff in the event of job action that were agreed to be essential in the 2019 agreement. These services include timely management of potentially dangerous chemicals or research apparatus needing regular attention, principal investigator roles in clinical trials, and academic supervision of graduate counseling practicums.
On Wednesday November 3rd, 2021, the documentation for joint filing of our ESA was submitted to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) for review and acceptance.
Once the ESA is accepted with the ALRB formal mediation is possible through the ALRB. The informal mediation, applied for by the Board, will move into the formal mediation applied for by ULFA. At this point there is every reason to be optimistic about mediation leading to a collective agreement. If, despite our best efforts, mediation fails, then the way is clear for potential job action, including both strike and lock-out.
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
