To the Memorial University community:

I am writing to provide an update on the collective bargaining process with the Lecturers Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (LUMUN). At the request of the university, the parties met on Friday, February 23. The negotiating team for Memorial University presented a full package, including a monetary proposal, in our commitment to complete collective bargaining with LUMUN. 

The conciliator has indicated that LUMUN requested the parties reconvene on Wednesday, February 28. We are eager to proceed, and we look forward to more productive conversations with the union’s bargaining team tomorrow.

The university is committed to negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement with LUMUN.

Per course instructors are valued part-time members of our teaching and learning community who play a key role in delivering our academic mission and fulfilling our special obligation to the people of our province. We recognize that their rate of pay needs to increase. The offer we tabled last week represents substantial increases.

Currently, per course instructors are paid between $5,000 and $5,875 per course, depending on the number of courses previously taught. The university’s proposal would harmonize per course rates to one single rate, raising those rates to $7,169 per course for September 2024 and increasing to $7,312 in September 2025. This represents a pay increase, by 2025, of 46% for those at the bottom of the current range ($5,000/course going to $7,312) and 25% for those at the top of the range ($5,875/course going to $7,312). These rates would be retroactive to September 1, 2022, and represent a substantial increase for all, placing Memorial’s per course instructors in line with the Atlantic Canadian average. 

The university’s offer also contains an increase in professional development funding in support of teaching and learning initiatives for per course instructors; and a commitment to address last-minute course cancellations with an increase in the cancellation fee.

I want to assure students that we will do everything we can to ensure your progress through the semester with minimal disruption. Reaching a fair deal while supporting student learning is our main priority, and we will keep students updated on the process as it continues to unfold.

We have begun to share FAQs and updates on the collective bargaining process with LUMUN on the university’s labour relations information hub and via Newsline. We will continue to share updates directly with the university community as the process unfolds.

Dr. Jennifer Lokash
Provost and Vice-President (Academic) pro tempore