Changes to university law proposed, but union ire remains
Posted Apr 30, 2015 12:25:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Nova Scotia government is proposing amendments to legislation aimed at making the province’s 10 universities more financially accountable.
But the changes aren’t enough for some student groups and unions who say the legislation should be withdrawn altogether because it still restricts labour rights.
The bill would suspend the right for unionized workers to go on strike at universities that are in financial trouble while in collective bargaining.
Instead, the legislation would allow schools to extend negotiations and ask for a 12- to 18-month process that would see an advisory committee help devise a restructuring plan.
The amendments proposed today by the Liberal government don’t change those measures but would remove a provision restricting grievance procedures for universities that are restructuring.
Ray Larkin, a lawyer for the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, says the idea of suspending collective bargaining is unnecessary, unlikely to be effective and is unfair to employees.
