Notice Board

Trevor Kenney
trevor.kenney@uleth.ca

October 3, 2013

BUDGET UPDATE

The University of Lethbridge continues to work through reductions in its operating budget due to the 7.3% cut in the Campus Alberta Operating Grant. Much of the reduction and budget planning activity that has occurred to date was outlined in my September 16, 2013 budget update memo. In that memo I also indicated a tentative agreement had been reached between the University and the University of Lethbridge Faculty Association (ULFA).

I am pleased to report that the University of Lethbridge Board of Governors and the Members of ULFA have ratified a one-year negotiated economic benefits proposal.

As we have previously outlined the compensation settlements and reduction strategies conducted with other employee groups and classifications on campus, I've included some highlights of the resulting ULFA settlement.

• Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) - COLA is 0% for 2013-14. COLA is applied to all Members' prior June 30th salary on July 1 of each year. For the periods 2014-15 and 2015-16, COLA is determined by the Consumer Price Index formula approach detailed in the existing agreement within the current Faculty Handbook.
• Salary Rollback – There will be a 1% rollback to the base academic salaries of all Members who were on staff as of June 30, 2013 AND November 15, 2013.
• Career Progress and Merit - Career Progress increments per member and Merit pool awards will remain the same as the 2012-13 amounts.

I would like to thank both negotiating teams for their hard work in arriving at a mutually acceptable proposal.

The result of this settlement, while not exactly the same, is fair in relation to the compensation for other University employee groups. In comparison, the Board of Governors approved 0% COLA, 0% merit and 0% career progress increases for all members of Senior Administration, Administrative Professional Officers (APOs) and Exempt Support Staff. Further, despite receiving a general 2% COLA and 0-4% merit increase under the current collective agreement that expires June 30, 2014, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members are taking 11 definite layoff days. In managing this difficult budget situation, we have strived to ensure a fair approach to the treatment of all employee groups.

As I mentioned in my last message to campus, we are anticipating another challenging process as we work through our 2014/15 budget. Attrition is one of the means available to the University to implement reductions with the least negative impact on individuals. To this end, President's Executive has implemented a temporary hiring restriction on positions that are funded in whole or in part through funds received from the Campus Alberta Operating Grant. This restriction will remain in place until at least December 31, 2013. Specifics of this hiring restriction include:

• Current Requests for Appointment will not be posted, even if they have successfully passed through the approval process;
• Positions that have been posted and are in process will be held in abeyance;
• No offers will be made on any position, even if the hiring process has been completed; and
• Offers that have already been made and accepted are not affected by this restriction.

Exceptions to this hiring restriction will require the approval of President's Executive. Examples of positions which President's Executive may consider include those that arise from:

• Legislative or regulatory requirements specifically requiring the position, and safety requirements.
• Positions that are funded in total by grants restricted for that purpose by an outside agency, such as the Mental Health and Addictions Grant or NSERC grants.
• Casual positions for which there is not the requirement for continuing position funding.
• Positions which are fundamental to the continuance of an academic or research program.

It is important to note that although we have implemented a hiring restriction, we must at the same time ensure that our core academic programs are still being delivered. To that end, there will need to be some replacement of faculty positions that were vacated either due to resignation or as a result of the 34 accepted academic staff retirements over the next few years. These replacements will need to be approved by President's Executive, in consultation with the Deans.

A voluntary personal leave plan was recently released, which allows eligible employees to take a voluntary personal unpaid leave between the period of October 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. This plan will also allow departments some flexibility to manage their budgets, as the applicable department will retain any budget savings realized as a result of this plan. The application for personal leaves are subject to supervisory approval and operational requirements. This plan will also be extended and offered for the period July 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.

On October 10, 2013, at 3 p.m. in the University Theatre, I will deliver the annual Fiat Lux address. While I will address our ongoing budget challenges, I will focus on the activities and initiatives we as a university must pursue to ensure the U of L's successful future.

Once again, I would like to thank all of the faculty, staff and students of the University of Lethbridge for their hard work as we move toward our budget reduction targets. This has been a challenging time within our University and the entire post-secondary education system in Alberta. Our shared commitment must remain focused on our academic programs and research and ensuring we provide a high quality education to our students.

Dr. Mike Mahon
President & Vice-Chancellor