Province appoints mediator

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/10/2011 (5437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Accusations continued to fly between the Brandon University Faculty Association and the administration yesterday, even as the province appointed a mediator to try to end the dispute.

On Monday, Labour Minister Jennifer Howard announced that Michael Werier was appointed to mediate the contract dispute at Brandon University.

Werier is a partner in the Winnipeg law firm of D’Arcy & Deacon LLP, and according to the company website, works as an arbitrator/mediator and a civil litigator.

BUFA called for a mediator last Friday after conciliation talks ended without a resolution to the strike.

The two sides were slated to meet at 4:30 p.m. today in Winnipeg in Werier’s office at the Richardson Building, confirmed BUFA spokesman Bill Paton.

The negotiating teams will likely be placed into separate rooms with the mediator working between them.

“He has asked both sides to outline their last position and why they want what they want,” Paton said. “If everybody prepares what he’s asked for, he can quickly assess the merits of each case.”

The university’s chief negotiator, lawyer Grant Mitchell, said he hopes that the mediation process will help end the strike as soon as possible and get students back to the classroom.

The appointment of a mediator was welcomed by Brandon University Students Union president Deandra Tousignant, who said she hopes the process will be fair and equitable for both sides.

“It’s important to remember that, although students do want to get back to class and students are getting anxious, we do want a fair resolution to be made, and hopefully meeting with a mediator is a step in that direction, and that both parties can reach a fair deal,” she said.

But the ongoing BU strike is threatening to overshadow the previous labour dispute that occurred at the institution three years ago.

Today marks Day 14 of the faculty strike at Brandon University — the previous faculty strike in 2008 lasted 17 days.

When asked what the possible consequences would be if the current labour dispute lasts more than 17 days, Mitchell‚ clearly irritated, said the question should be directed toward the faculty association.

“We’ve tried to end the strike. We tried to prevent the strike by offering arbitration from the beginning. We tried to get them back to class while they referred to mediation. We’ve tried to offer mediation, arbitration. Every attempt we’ve made to end this strike has been stymied by BUFA,” Mitchell said.

“We’re always hopeful to get an agreement. The issue isn’t the mediator. It’s the union.”

Even within the faculty association, optimism for the outcome of the mediation process has been held in check by the fact that mediation failed to end the strike in 2008.

“Mediation failed the last time,” Paton said. “The two parties — they began meeting on their own and a resolution was reached at that point. (Yet) when I was involved in 2003, mediation essentially solved it.

“A mediator has a lot more empowerment under the act than the conciliator. I understand this gentlemen is very talented and highly respected. I don’t think Mr. Mitchell will be able to play any games.”

While the provincial government has remained silent during much of the university strike, Premier Greg Selinger yesterday addressed the situation during a media scrum after question period at the Manitoba legislature.

“The best solution is to get an agreement,” Selinger said. “People want to get back to work and students want to get back to classes and people want to freely negotiate a collective agreement. The mediator will help them do that.”

When asked if back to work legislation is a possibility, Selinger said:

“We follow the collective bargaining process and the mediator is in place. People believe the mediator will help. We take it a step at a time. We don’t speculate on things that haven’t happened yet. The option on the table is a mediator and that’s the one that’s been agreed to.”