University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada May 30, 1997

Tentative three-year agreement reached

AAS:UA president recommending faculty accept university offer

By Michael Robb

A tentative three-year agreement has been signed by the University and the Association of Academic Staff. The agreement calls for a salary increase of 3.09 per cent in the first year, 3.06 per cent in the second and 3.62 per cent in the third year. "This offer is made in recognition that faculty salaries at the University of Alberta, relative to those at comparable Canadian universities, have declined over the past several years and is an attempt to regain some of the ground lost," says Dr. Doug Owram, Vice-President (Academic). Since 1985, salary levels for professors at the U of A have dropped from second highest in the country to 16th position among a select group of universities. If approved, the salary settlement is expected to improve that ranking to about 10th position. But, President Rod Fraser told General Faculties Council, May 20, the settlement won't place the U of A salaries anywhere near the head of the pack. And, he pointed out, other universities aren't standing still.

"I'm happy that we arrived at an agreement that was strongly endorsed by our Council," AAS:UA president Reuben Kaufman said. "It shows our academic staff that their services and contributions to the U of A are valued. I'm recommending the settlement to AAS:UA." The members of the academic staff association will vote on the tentative agreement by mail ballot. The memorandum of agreement will also go before the Board of Governors for its approval. If both parties approve the deal, the agreement will take effect July 1.

In reviewing his key initiatives, President Fraser said during the past year the University has made enormous progress in hiring new faculty. There are still some difficulties on the salary issue, he said, but faculty renewal will continue to be very important to the University over the next four or five years. This will be the most fundamental restaffing since the 1960s, he said.

Owram said there is no magic formula for recruitment and the tentative agreement is just one part of the process. He said it must go hand in hand with providing a working environment that makes people feel they want to be here, recruiting good students and finding the resources that will get the University beyond the cuts.

Graduate student Peter Cahill suggested that the University should be explaining after-tax figures to potential faculty recruits. Responded Owram, "When we try to recruit people, we say 'look at your net take-home pay, look at the lack of a sales tax, look at the cheap housing prices.' But people who are coming out as new assistant professors are looking at their pay packages not just as a standard of living issue, but as a kind of reflection of worth issue. To them, making $42,000 in a higher price market sometimes seems better than making $40,000 even if the cost of living here would give them the advantage. We have to be competitive with the salary level within a narrow range or we start to lose."

Faculty of Engineering Dean David Lynch said a $55,000 salary in Ontario would be roughly equivalent to high 40s or low 50s before tax in Alberta. Many short-listed candidates take a long-term view, however, and note that their pensions will be based on the lower salaries. "We do our best to point out all the other attributes in addition to salary, but salary is important," said Lynch.

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