1988-10-20. MUN Gazette, vol. 21, no. 05

              Gazette
Tentative agreement reached
between CUPE and university
Memorial University
of Newfoundland
Volume 21       Number 5
October 20, 1988
University employees represented by
the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE) Local 1615 voted
this week to accept a new 2-year contract
offer. The 800 administrative, technical
and technical support personnel had
threatened to strike on Oct. 17 if an
agreement had not been reached.
Negotiators for the union and the
university held a series of late night bargaining sessions before reaching a tentative agreement on Oct. 15. In meetings
held two days later, 78 per cent of the
600 union members who voted supported acceptance of the deal which includes
a salary increase of 6 per cent in each
of the two years. The agreement is
retroactive to April 1, 1988, when the
previous contract expired.
This was the third contract offer
brought to the CUPE local's membership in the last month. Following votes,
the two previous offers, which were
recommended by the union's negotiating team, were rejected.
The agreement contains a number of
new or amended provisions intended to
bring it into line with the contracts of
other university and government employees. Adoption leave for a period of
33 weeks is a new option for CUPE
members. Maternity leave has been increased from 17 to 33 weeks.
In an effort to eliminate any wage
differences that may exist in the current
classification system resulting from
gender discrimination, the tentative
agreement calls for the establishment of
a pay equity committee that will report
within six months of the official signing
of the contract.
Ratified by the union, the agreement
will now go before the university's
governing body, the Board of Regents,
at its next meeting. The official contract
signing will take place as soon as the
document is prepared.
Pro vice-chancellor
to be installed
National Students Day
Election forum
announced
Helium balloons and a challenge to
federal political candidates were
featured as the Council of the Students'
Union (CSU) at Memorial participated
in National Students Day on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
At an 11 a.m. press conference held
in the Council Chambers of the TSC,
Memorial's student council issued a
challenge to the candidates in the federal riding of St. John's East to participate in an all-party debate at Memorial
on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The debate will
be moderated by Mike Duffy, former
Ottawa correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and now
host of his own current affairs program.
The candidates' forum will be held in
the TSC gymnasium at 1 p.m.
"There can be no better way to
demonstrate what the national student
movement is about," said Paul Smith,
president of the CSU. "Questioning the
candidates in a public forum and holding them responsible for their answers
is the only way to guarantee that the
voters are informed and that education
remains a priority with the
government."
Over 1000 helium balloons provided
by the Canadian Federation of Students
cont'd  on p. 2
Dr. DavidF. Strong, vice-president
(academic), has been appointed as
the university's pro vice-chancellor. Dr.
Strong's appointment was made by
Memorial's Board of Regents at its September 30 meeting. His installation will
take place at the upcoming fall convocation on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the St.
John's Arts and Culture Centre.
One of the university's most prominent researchers, Dr. Strong has an international reputation for his work in
earth sciences. He was born in Botwood
and graduated from Memorial in 1965.
In 1967 he received an M.Sc. degree
from Lehigh University and in 1970 he
earned a PhD from the University of
Edinburgh.
Dr. Strong joined Memorial's Department of Earth Sciences in 1970. Since
then he has received numerous awards
for his research, including NSERC's
E.R.W. Steacie Fellowship (1975-77),
the Canadian Institute of Mining Distinguished Service Award (1979), and
Fellowship in the Royal Society of
Canada (1982).
In 1985 Dr. Strong was honored by
Memorial with the title University
Research Professor, the highest distinc-
Dr. David Strong
tion which the university can bestow
upon a serving faculty member. In 1986
he was named special advisor to the
university president, undertaking a comprehensive study of research at Memorial and exploring opportunities for new
and expanded research activities.
Appointed to the position of vice-
president (academic) in June 1987, "he
cont'd  on p. 2
The Bonne Bay field station provides an outport research base for personnel from Memorial and other universities. The
main building (L) houses laboratories and accommodations for 15 people. See story on p. 8.
INSIDE
Alumna of the Year 3
Naval surgeon explores
history of wartime surgery 4
New project to bring business
and universities together 5
Senate notes 5
Research 6
Calendar 7
A west coast research base
for Memorial scientists 8