McGill and MUNACA leadership began negotiations on a new collective agreement in Fall 2020. Since that time, the parties have met more than 50 times. They have since come to agreement on most of the non-monetary elements within the new collective agreement. In January 2022, monetary discussions continued in the presence of a conciliator appointed by the Ministry of Labour.
On March 10, 2022, McGill presented its latest offer for a five-year collective agreement informed by a systematic approach to collecting and evaluating salary data. The University compared the pay rates of McGill employees with those of similar positions in other local universities and organizations. The exercise provided the foundation for a new market-based salary structure that is more closely aligned with practices in other organizations. The scale ensures that hourly rates better align with the market median, giving employees the opportunity to reach the market rate much faster than before.
In the University’s March 10, 2022, proposal, employees would benefit from an overall average salary increase of over 21 per cent, including an immediate increase of close to 15 per cent, retroactive to 2019. The proposal also includes one-time lump-sum payments to active employees, conditional on McGill and MUNACA reaching an agreement by April 30, 2022.
Given current inflationary uncertainty, the University is closely monitoring projected salary increase budgets reported by other major employers. The proposed annual salary increases, comprised of both automatic step and economic increases, are aligned with the Quebec and Canadian market.
Monetary details of the proposal are available on HR’s Labour & Employee Relations website.
McGill has successfully reached recent agreements, within similar parameters, with other unions, and therefore believes it is presenting a fair offer to MUNACA while maintaining the University’s financial viability as a para-public institution. Despite this, MUNACA has announced that it will seek a strike mandate from its members at a special general meeting on Wednesday, April 6, 2022.
Should the union obtain a strike mandate, the decision to go on strike would fall to the union. A strike mandate would apply to all employees covered by the bargaining unit, including the M1 employees who have recently joined MUNACA.