Last updated: August 20, 2010 8:58 pm
University of Manitoba security staff locked out
Students concerned for their safety while contract negotiations drag on
Security staff at the University of Manitoba were locked out on Aug. 20 after contract negotiations were halted. (Photo by the Manitoban)
Email
WINNIPEG (CUP) — The University of Manitoba locked out their security service staff after contract negotiations hit a standstill on Aug. 20.
University representatives walked away from the bargaining table at 4:30 p.m., said John Urkevich, the union representative for the security staff.
This caught the staff off guard, as they were under the impression that the university was ready to sit down to hammer out a deal, Urkevich explained.
"We were prepared to [negotiate] all weekend.”
John Danakas, the university's director of public affairs, confirmed that negotiations had been put on hold.
The university's 27 security services employees were barred from the campus beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Aug. 20, are not permitted to report to work and will not be getting paid.
Security staff will be on the picket lines starting Aug. 23, said Urkevich.
Urkevich explained one of the main points currently holding the negotiations back is the minimum staffing clause. Currently a minimum of three security officers must be stationed at U of M’s Fort Garry campus at all times and two at their Bannatyne campus. Security staff are demanding that number increase to four and three respectively, both for the safety of students and for officers responding to calls.
“Students are upset that the university has chosen to try and push through cuts to security staffing, particularly since they have chosen to do so immediately prior to the fall semester,” read a statement from the U of M’s student union president Heather Laube.
“While almost every aspect of the student’s experience will be affected, students are worried that a lockout by the university will put them at greater risk. We understand the provincial government and university want to cut their budgets, but that burden should not be placed on students and the public-sector workers that keep us safe,” the statement continued.
Security employees have been in negotiations with the university over their collective agreement since August 2009.
With notes from Sarah Petz
-30-
Special Report on Alcohol
Featured Articles
-
In Rhodes we should not trust
Are the students receiving scholarships concerned that the $100,000 they receive from the Rhodes Trust comes from the imperial exploitation and war-mongering in which Rhodes took part?
-
The grad school journey
How do professors and students — those working toward obtaining a graduate degree and those in the midst of the application process — perceive the jump to grad school?
-
Coûts du bilinguisme : une nouvelle étude sème la discorde
Lundi dernier, la une du Ottawa Sun avait ceci comme titre: «C’est cher, n’est pas?» [sic.] L’article –qui aurait dû lire «C’est cher, n’est-ce pas?», faute que le quotidien s’est empressé de corriger l’après-midi même –s’appuyait sur une étude récente menée par l’Institut Fraser. Le rapport *Official Language Policies of the Canadian Provinces: Costs and Benefits in 2006* et sa couverture médiatique en ont fait jaser plusieurs.