The McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) has made significant gains in their new three-year agreement. On equity, a Working Group on Collecting and Reporting Salary Data for Equity-Deserving Groups has been established that will recommend an approach to gather, analyze, and report on MUFA member salary data to support salary parity.
An agreement has also been reached to establish a committee to review all policies and bylaws at the university that affect teaching-stream faculty, including: workload; promotion criteria; voting privileges; and eligibility for committee membership, senior positions, and graduate supervision. The committee will pay special attention to policies that distinguish between teaching-stream and tenure-stream faculty and determine whether such distinctions are warranted.
In terms of benefits, the list of eligible mental health practitioners has been expanded and vision care coverage has been increased. Starting in fall 2023, graduates of qualifying international institutions will be eligible for the university’s Tuition Bursary Program for Dependents and Spouses. Beginning in Year 2 of the agreement, instead of the $500 cap on individual providers, members will be able to pool paramedical expenses up to $2,000/year across any combination of eligible providers. That pool expands to $3,000/year in the third year of the contract. Finally, the Pregnancy Leave Supplemental Unemployment Benefit is being extended to 17 weeks.
On compensation, the agreement provides a one per cent across-the-board (ATB) salary increase per year, plus a contingent ATB increase should Bill 124 be repealed. If the contingent ATB increase cannot be implemented, the number of par increments in the Faculty Career Progress/Merit Plan will be increased instead. The agreement also includes annual Professional Development Allowance increases.