REPORT OF THE JOINT ADMINISTRATION/FACULTY ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE

PREAMBLE

The Joint Committee is pleased to announce that the representatives of the McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) and the Administration have agreed to a remuneration settlement that covers the three-year period from July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002, subject to ratification by MUFA members. As with all successful negotiations, we believe that the proposed agreement reflects an appropriate and acceptable balance between the positions advocated by the two parties. At McMaster, these negotiations are facilitated by the shared goal of MUFA and the Administration to promote an environment that rewards excellent faculty and one that fosters and supports the scholarly pursuits and aspirations of faculty.

The willingness of MUFA and the Administration to agree to a three-year settlement was motivated by the recognition that a longer-term agreement provides the stable and predictable environment that permits the best academic planning and the flexibility to pursue the most aggressive course of faculty renewal within the current difficult financial constraints. The proposed agreement provides for the full Career Progress/Merit (CP/M), provided without any time delay, in each of the three years. In addition, the agreement provides an across-the-board (ATB) salary increase in each year, along with corresponding increases in the salary floors, the CP/M inflection points and the monetary values of the CP/M par steps. In year two of the settlement, there is a one-time payment to faculty to compensate for past delays in the allocation of CP/M awards earned in the period 1994-1998. We have also agreed to a continuation of the 50% of normal employee pension contribution holiday for all years of the agreement. In addition, to support the scholarly activities of faculty, we have agreed to continue the annual subsidy of the self-funding modem pool and to increase the Professional Development Allowance (PDA) provided to faculty, both in all three years of the agreement. The details of the proposed agreement are provided below.

An information session will be held by the Joint Committee to discuss the agreement on Wednesday, March 31, 1999, in the Michael G. DeGroote Building, Room 505 at 2:30 p.m. You are invited to attend.

for the McMaster Faculty Associationfor the McMaster Administration
David HitchcockHarvey P. Weingarten
Leslie J. KingAlexander L. Darling
John PlattAlan Harrison

March 11, 1999

TEXT OF THE AGREEMENT

for the Period July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002

YEAR 1: For the Period JULY 1, 1999 to JUNE 30, 2000

  1. CP/M awards for 1999-2000 (merit year 1998) will be based on 120 par units per 100 faculty. Payments of these amounts will be included in salary effective July 1, 1999.

  2. Effective November 1, 1999, there will be an across-the-board increase of 1.25 percent of the June 30, 1999 salary.

  3. The value of the PDA will be increased by 1 percent to a value of $1272, effective May 1, 1999.

  4. The existing arrangement for modem-pool funding will continue.

  5. The parties agree to a pension holiday of 50% of employee contributions with a corresponding adjustment of the termination benefit (to maintain its value), effective July 1, 1999. In the event of any other subsequent agreement (e.g., in the McMaster University Ad Hoc Committee for Retirement Provisions for Salaried Employees) that affects employee contributions to the Pension Plan, that agreement will supersede this negotiated pension holiday as of the implementation date of that new agreement.

YEAR 2: For the Period JULY 1, 2000 to JUNE 30, 2001

  1. Effective July 1, 2000, there will be an across-the-board increase of 0.5 percent of the June 30, 2000 salary.

  2. The salary floors of all ranks, the inflection points and values of CP/M par steps will be increased by 1.75 percent on July 1, 2000.

  3. CP/M awards for 2000-2001 (merit year 1999) will be based on 120 par units per 100 faculty. Payments of these amounts will be included in salary effective July 1, 2000.

  4. The value of the PDA will be increased by 1 percent to a value of $1285, effective May 1, 2000.

  5. The existing arrangement for modem-pool funding will continue.

  6. The parties agree to a pension holiday of 50% of employee contributions with a corresponding adjustment of the termination benefit (to maintain its value), effective July 1, 2000. In the event of any other subsequent agreement (e.g., in the McMaster University Ad Hoc Committee for Retirement Provisions for Salaried Employees) that affects employee contributions to the Pension Plan, that agreement will supersede this negotiated pension holiday as of the implementation date of that new agreement.

  7. One-time payments totalling $250,000 will be made on July 15, 2000 to faculty who are employed on July 1, 2000 and who received delayed merit awards relating to years 1994 to 1997. The payments to individual faculty will be proportionate to their delayed merit awards and the length of the delays. The details of the allocation scheme will be determined by the Joint Committee.

YEAR 3: For the Period JULY 1, 2001 to JUNE 30, 2002

  1. CP/M awards for 2001-2002 (merit year 2000) will be based on 120 par units per 100 faculty. Payments of these amounts will be included in salary effective July 1, 2001.

  2. Effective October 1, 2001 there will be an across-the-board increase of 1.25 percent of the June 30, 2001 salary. Salary floors, inflection points and the CP/M steps will be adjusted by 1.25% in line with common practice.

  3. The value of the PDA will be increased by 1 percent to a value of $1300, effective May 1, 2001.

  4. The existing arrangement for modem-pool funding will continue.

  5. The parties agree to a pension holiday of 50% of employee contributions with a corresponding adjustment of the termination benefit (to maintain its value), effective July 1, 2001. In the event of any other subsequent agreement (e.g., in the McMaster University Ad Hoc Committee for Retirement Provisions for Salaried Employees) that affects employee contributions to the Pension Plan, that agreement will supersede this negotiated pension holiday as of the implementation date of that new agreement.