Opening Statement and Proposal of  Approach to Negotiations Submitted by the University Administration's Representatives  on the Joint Committee

December 15, 2005

The University Administration's representatives on the Joint Committee look forward to our Committee's deliberations to determine the remuneration provisions for the next few years.  We value the contribution of the faculty to the University, we recognize and have great respect for the relationship that the Faculty Association and the Administration have built together, and we seek to reinforce it through the conduct of these negotiations.  It is our intention to participate in open dialogue with the objective of a mutually agreeable outcome.

This opening brief outlines our view of the context and considerations that pertain to our discussions and proposes an approach to achieving an outcome that addresses MUFA's proposals and concerns while meeting the University's needs.  In preparing for this meeting, we have reviewed the interests that formed the basis of our previous successful negotiations.  Many of those interests are still applicable today.  These interests inform and underlie all that we hope to contribute to, and achieve through, this process.

1. Our primary interest is to maintain, and, wherever possible, enhance, provisions that allow the University and the Faculty Association to ensure the highest standards of excellence of McMaster's faculty.  This is the single most important ingredient necessary to ensure that the University achieves its goals and mission.
   
   
2. Included at Tab 1-2* are the "Principles for Negotiation of Faculty Remuneration" which have guided the parties' deliberations over more than a decade.  Through this time, headway has been made in addressing some of the specific issues covered.  The Administration's representatives accept, as we expect MUFA's representatives do, that the general philosophies regarding Compensation and Working Conditions continue to be important and relevant guides to our discussions.  [*The documents referred to throughout are available in the MUFA Office for viewing.] 
   
   
3. It is our strongly held preference that the Committee achieve agreement in direct discussion.  Agreements made directly between the members of the Joint Committee are always superior to ones imposed by someone external to the relationship.
   
   
4. In view of the demands and challenges that lie in the immediate future for the University and its faculty, it is our belief that we will all be best served by the stability and predictability provided by a three-year agreement on matters of remuneration.
   
   
5. Refining Directions [Document 11-1] is the strategic plan that sets out the future direction for McMaster University.  Our vision is articulated in three main goals:
   
   
• To provide an innovative and stimulating learning environment where students can prepare themselves to excel in life.
  
  
• To achieve the next level in research results and reputation by building on existing and emerging areas of excellence.
  
  
• To build an inclusive community with a shared purpose.
  
  
6. Collegial discussion of common purposes and challenges relies on shared information.  We have updated the contents of the information binder prepared to assist our negotiations at this time last year.  The binder includes recent documentation and information providing specific data for each of the major areas of consideration that form the backdrop to our discussions.  As in previous rounds, we undertake to provide any other information the Committee requires to inform its discussions.
   
   
7. As in all matters, the agreement needs to be mindful of the fiscal health of the University.  It is the Committee's challenge to balance this stewardship responsibility with the achievement of the interests stated above.

APPROACH TO NEGOTIATIONS

PART I
Working from the premises established above, the Administration's representatives endorse the comments in the Introduction to the "Principles" document and propose that the parties approach negotiations from a global rather than a positional perspective.  This would begin with consideration of the University's environment, the challenges of which include:

• Current operating funding shortfalls, the structural deficit and the impact on new faculty hiring
• The requirements attendant on new provincial funding for commensurate increases in quality, accessibility and/or program size, and the absence of new funding to address cost increases due to inflation
• The trebling of the University's contributions to the Pension Plan and the pension plan deficit financing
• The mounting unfunded liability associated with post-retirement benefits, and
• Plans for University expansion including Graduate Program, Burlington campus and McMaster Innovation Park initiatives

Information about these matters is found at Tabs 2, 3 and 7 of the Binder.

The goal of this initial discussion would be the identification of a global compensation increase that is feasible in the context of the University's fiscal pressures and yet sufficient to address the interests embodied in the Principles of:

• A competitive salary and benefit package
• A rate of increase that takes cost-of-living increases into account
• A system that rewards contributions to the University and academic excellence
• A benefit package that protects faculty members in ill health, provides a good pension and is tax-effective

This outcome also needs to be consistent with situating the University, as set out in the Principles, such that it can provide for:

• An appropriate instructional environment
• An appropriate rate of faculty renewal
• Working conditions conducive to excellence
• The resources necessary to support faculty work, and
• The funding required to enhance research and scholarship

Information about these matters is found at Tabs 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 & 10 of the Binder.
 

PART II
With a global compensation increase identified by the Joint Committee, the negotiations process would then turn to consideration of the most effective distribution of this amount across the different components of the total compensation package.  These traditionally include:

• "Across the Board" increases
• Career Progression/Merit system
• Benefit Plans
• Pension Plan
• Research Leave provisions
• Overload stipends
• Professional Development Allowance

Information about these matters is found at Tabs 4 and 5 of the Binder.

As part of this discussion, the Administration representatives intend to propose that the Committee consider:

• Whether the current CP/M system adequately addresses excellence and whether it is structured and administered in a way that engenders confidence on the part of those affected by it
• Whether, within the current benefit plan structure, there are more effective and sustainable approaches to the allocation of resources, including the introduction of a managed drug formulary
• The cessation of post retirement benefits for new faculty hired on or after July 1, 2006
• Changes to the employee contribution rates for the Pension Plan
• The introduction of measures resulting from the discussions concerning the University's response to the impending abolition of mandatory retirement

The Administration members of the Committee look forward to a full and open discussion of these numbers, trends, and plans as our deliberations ensue.  We welcome the input of our faculty leaders to assist in the strategies that will ensure financial viability and sustainability for the University while meeting the legitimate needs of its faculty for competitive remuneration and working conditions.