UQAM lecturers are gearing up for a strike on Monday if no deal is reached this weekend
Olivier Aubry, the union president, mentioned that they’re hoping for some last-minute negotiations to avoid the strike, which could go on indefinitely.
He said they’ll be making a global offer on Saturday and really want to reach an agreement before Monday. But for that to happen, UQAM needs to step up and meet their demands.
The focus isn’t on renegotiating the whole contract but just the parts related to online teaching. They had a letter of understanding about this, and the main contract is good until the end of the year.
Aubry pointed out that they’re asking for compensation for the extra work that comes with online teaching. Studies show that online courses can be about 30% more work than in-person classes.
They’re also looking for limits on the size of online course groups.
UQAM management says they’ve had 22 negotiation sessions, with a conciliator from the Ministry of Labour joining 13 of them. They’ve put several offers on the table since spring 2024.
However, there’s a big disagreement about how much online teaching is happening at UQAM. The union claims that nearly 25% of courses are online, especially in some departments, while management says it’s only 11%.
Management insists that program committees, which include faculty and students, decide how courses are delivered, whether in-person, online, or hybrid. This collaborative approach is a key value for UQAM.
The union represents lecturers and internship supervisors and is part of a larger federation in Quebec.
