Bargaining Updates
AMURE has signed the new collective agreement for post-docs. McGill still needs to sign the agreement, which will then come into force. McGill will then have a maximum of 60 working days to implement salary increases and the new annualized minimum salary of $41,500, and 90 working days to make retroactive payments. A summary of the new agreement can be found here.
Research assistants and associates voted in favour of the agreement in principle between AMURE and McGill. You can read the highlights of the new agreement below and here, with more details here. McGill will provide the translated version of the new collective agreement to AMURE this week, after which AMURE and McGill representatives will sign it. Once it has been signed, the agreement will come into force, and McGill will have a maximum of 60 working days to implement the economic and step increases specified in the agreement, and 90 working days to pay retroactive increases.
Highlights of Collective Agreement for Research Assistants and Associates
Summer Fridays
As part of the new collective agreement, research assistants and associates will be entitled to nine paid Summer Fridays each year. These will be scheduled as specified on the University’s website, with one of the nine days to be taken over the winter break in December. If you are required to work on a Summer Friday, you are entitled to either equivalent time off on another day or overtime pay. If you are a part-time employee, you will be entitled to Summer Fridays on a pro-rated basis – that is, you are entitled to time off equivalent to one fifth of your weekly working hours.
Economic and Step Increases
Research assistants will be entitled to economic increases of 5.5% in June 2023, 2.5% in June 2024, 2.25% in June 2025, and 2.25% in June 2026. Research associates will be entitled to economic increases of 9.7% in June 2023, 4.5% in June 2024, 4.0% in June 2025, and 4.0% in June 2026. Economic increases for all years are automatic.
Research assistants and associates will be entitled to step increases of 2.5% on each June 1st from 2021 to 2026. Step increases for 2021 and 2022 are automatic, granted the employee was employed at the time of those increases, and will be paid retroactively. Step increases for 2023 and future years are dependent on a successful evaluation by the employee’s supervisor. The 2023 step increase is retroactive to June 1, 2023. Research assistants at the top of the scale will receive 2% lump sum payments for each year they were active in lieu of step increases.
Scenario 1: If an RA began working at McGill on May 2021 and is still working on the day the collective agreement is signed, they will receive 3 step increases (2021, 2022, 2023) and the economic increase of 5.5%. The 2021 and 2022 step increases will be automatic and will be paid retroactively. The 2023 step increase will be dependent on a successful evaluation from the supervisor and retroactive to June 1, 2023. The economic increase will be automatic and retroactive to June 1, 2023.
Scenario 2: If an RA began working at McGill on May 2022 and is still working on the day the collective agreement is signed, they will receive 2 step increases (2022, 2023) and the economic increase of 5.5%. The 2022 step increase will be automatic and will be paid retroactively. The 2023 step increase will be dependent on a successful evaluation from the supervisor and retroactive to June 1, 2023. The economic increase will be automatic and retroactive to June 1, 2023.
Scenario 3: If an RA was working at McGill on June 1, 2021, was already at the top of the scale in 2021, and is still working on the day the collective agreement is signed, they will receive the automatic economic increase of 5.5%, retroactive to June 1, 2023, as well as lump sum payments equivalent to 2% of their salaries for each of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
(Scenarios 1 & 2 for research associates are the same, but with a 9.7% economic increase instead of 5.5%. Scenario 3 does not apply to research associates because their scale has been extended by 5 steps).
General Assembly
AMURE’s annual general assembly will be held in the second week of July, during which we will discuss the new collective agreements, budgets, resolutions, executive committee nominations, and more. If you are interested in joining the AMURE executive committee, the position of steward network coordinator is vacant. You can read more about this position in the AMURE bylaws. If you would like to nominate yourself, please contact Sean Cory at sean.cory@aerum-amure.ca.
Please be on the lookout for an email from AMURE President Sean Cory for details about the general assembly.