UWOFA sets strike deadline - negotiations continue

The University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) has established a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on November 3, 2010. Contract talks continue with five negotiation meetings scheduled prior to November 3, including meetings with the provincially-appointed mediator November 1 and 2.

Western remains cautiously optimistic that a negotiated settlement can be achieved, avoiding a labour disruption. However, the University has contingency plans in place to ensure undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars have the opportunity to successfully complete their academic goals.

Significant headway has been made thus far in the negotiations with agreement reached on a number of non-monetary items. Among the items to be resolved are mechanisms for addressing cases where peer review has established deficiencies in performance, conflict of interest, and compensation. Western administration continues to seek a settlement that recognizes the importance of tenure and the academic freedom to teach and pursue research and knowledge of a faculty member's choosing.