uAlberta asks staff to reopen collective agreements to avoid layoffs

While attempting to cut $56 million from its operating budget, uAlberta is asking staff to reopen 2-year collective agreements to help balance the budget and avoid mass layoffs, reports the Edmonton Journal. The Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) and the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA) have both been approached by uAlberta to revisit the recently-signed agreements, both in place until 2015. AASUA has already rejected the proposal, and NASA will vote later this month. uAlberta submitted an annual plan to the Alberta government with cost-cutting details for the next 3 years, but the province has asked them to accelerate the plan. Close to 76% of uAlberta’s operating budget is spent on salaries and benefits, but staff representatives believe “there has to be other places where the university can be more efficient with its spending.” The Alberta government cut $43 million from uAlberta’s operating budget this year, creating the majority of the deficit. Edmonton Journal

Update: August 8, 2013

uAlberta is offering its professors voluntary buyouts in order to cut its budget by $56 million in the next 2 years, with some professors expected to leave as early as December.  The move comes less than a week after uAlberta asked its staff to reopen 2-year collective agreements to help balance the budget and avoid mass layoffs. Edmonton Journal