4 July 2016
Dear Colleagues:
I am writing to share information with you regarding your retroactive salary increases.
The Administration has not communicated well about their plan to implement the March 31st arbitration award for our salary increases. On May 18th, I was informed that Payroll was working to the following timeline for our salary changes, which has been dictated by the Administration without consultation with the Faculty Association:
- 2014 GWI for regular Faculty – July 31st paycheque
- 2014 GWI for Sessional Lecturers – August 15th paycheque
- 2015 GWI for Sessional Lecturers – August 31st paycheque
- 1% lump sum for Sessional Lecturers – September 30th paycheque
- 2015 GWI & PTR for regular Faculty – November 30th paycheque
- 1% lump sum for regular faculty December 15th paycheque
You can find this timeline on the HR website: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/compensation/faculty-salary-increases/
When the Faculty Association became aware of this proposed timeline, we questioned why it would take 8 ½ months to pay out the salary increases owed to the membership. We did not receive a satisfactory answer. Unfortunately, the Administration has chosen not to prioritize the implementation of our salary increases.
Our concern with the Administration's proposed payout schedule is not merely with the timeline itself. It is with the Administration's failure to consider its obligation to seek the agreement of the Faculty Association to alter a negotiated provision of the Collective Agreement before settling their timeline. Our Collective Agreement requires the payment of a 1% lump sum on June 30th of each year.
I raised our concerns during discussions with the Administration but they advised that they were unable to prioritize the implementation of the salary award in such a way as to shorten the timeline.
We are still hearing from our membership that not all of you have heard about the payout schedule so we are aware that some of you may be learning about this for the first time. I apologize that you have not received a communication about this timeline earlier. I had asked the Administration to communicate their plan to all Faculty Association members, as is their responsibility.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Mark Mac Lean, President
