Conciliation
An update from your bargaining team
on the May 20 conciliation
Dear MUNACA members,
At the fifth conciliation session on May 20, your bargaining team spent the day with McGill and the conciliator working through the priority issues our members have set out for this round of bargaining. Your Bargaining Team remains committed working towards a Monetary Offer that catches up to inflation and meaningful language for real job security.
Following our last meeting, the two parties will meet again in June and resume discussions with a common goal of resolution.
Some of what McGill brought to the table will need careful review by your bargaining committee. Some of it does not move us meaningfully closer to a fair agreement. We will not characterize this session as progress until we are certain that it is.
What we can tell you today:
- Your bargaining team remains at the table and remains committed to securing a fair agreement;
- The priority issues our members identified continue to anchor every conversation we have with McGill;
- We will not accept an agreement that sets a low bar by devaluing our work
“Our members deserve a real answer, not a quick one,” said MUNACA President Dino Dutz. “We owe it to every member of this Union to have the full conversation before we tell you what it means. This is what we are doing.”
Our next meeting with the Employer and Conciliator will be June 18th to pick up the conversation.
We will be in touch shortly with concrete next steps. In the meantime, your bargaining committee continues to prepare for every possible path forward.
The strength of this union is its members. Stay engaged. Talk to your colleagues. If you have not already let us know you want to help, this is a good week to get in touch.
In solidarity,
Your MUNACA bargaining team
MUNACA responds to McGill’s terrible offer by seeking real gains for employees
Dear MUNACA members,
At the fourth conciliation session on May 6, your bargaining team presented MUNACA’s response to McGill’s so-called “comprehensive global offer.” An offer that was neither acceptable nor fair to the people who make McGill the institution that it is.
MUNACA has reasonable demands and your negotiators pushed back against McGill’s inadequate proposal. Besides respect from McGill executives and management, MUNACA members want:
- A monetary offer that catches up to and keeps up with inflation;
- Real job security and an end to McGill’s ongoing renewal of unstable contracts; and
- Better retirement benefits for the people who dedicate their lives in service of McGill.
“MUNACA members have been without a contract for two years and in the middle of our conciliation, McGill went and renewed Deep Saini’s contract two years early,” said MUNACA President Dino Dutz. “It’s disappointing and a little ironic that McGill gladly renewed the president’s contract two years early, while his support staff have been without one for two years.”
McGill and MUNACA’s negotiating team have reached a critical impasse. However, both sides agreed – through the Conciliator – to come prepared to explore possible solutions on the mutual sticking points at the next conciliation session that is scheduled for May 20.
Your bargaining team remains committed to working with McGill towards a fair and equitable agreement that shows respect for our members. MUNACA will also not accept an agreement that sets a low bar for other McGill unions in their own negotiations with the University.
We trust that McGill University will consider MUNACA’s reasonable proposals more seriously. We expect McGill to return to the table on May 20 with a substantive offer that our members can afford to live with and retire on.
The strength of this Union is its members. While we try to stay optimistic, we’ll be in touch with ways to escalate action if the time comes. Get in touch with us if you want to help!
In solidarity,
Your MUNACA bargaining team
– Update from your bargaining team –
McGill’s offer falls short
Dear MUNACA Members,
At the 22 April conciliation session, McGill tabled what they described as a comprehensive global offer. After careful review, your bargaining committee has concluded that the package does not adequately address the priorities our members identified, and that several of our most significant proposals were rejected outright.
McGill took the unusual step of introducing new language that attempts to move the parties further apart.
McGill University is offering minimal monetary movement. The gap is significant and, in real-dollar terms, would leave members worse off than when the last agreement expired.
That is not the offer our members deserve.
Your bargaining committee remains at the table and we are committed to pushing McGill towards a fair agreement. In the meantime, we are reviewing all of our options. We will be in touch shortly with more detail and with ways for you to help mobilize.
The strength of this union is its members. Thank you for staying engaged.
In solidarity,
Dino Dutz
President, MUNACA
McGill Plays Loose With Negotiation Facts
We are sharing this update with you on the status of conciliation with McGill and to ensure that you have the full, accurate picture of what has transpired so far.
March 26: MUNACA Ready, McGill Not
On March 26, your bargaining committee arrived at the conciliation table fully prepared. McGill did not. The session ended early because the university had no counterproposals and no monetary response. At MUNACA’s insistence, the conciliator received a commitment from McGill to return to the table on April 8 with substantive responses to our reasonable demands.
April 8: Cancelled and Commitments Broken Twice
McGill cancelled the April 8 conciliation session citing administrative excuses we don’t believe.
What makes this cancellation particularly troubling is the history behind this date. April 8 was not a date chosen on short notice. It was agreed upon months ago, before the New Year, when both parties and the conciliator were setting the schedule.
McGill re-committed to this date on March 26, but changed its mind three business days later.
How We Found Out
MUNACA was not informed of the cancellation until April 2, two full days after McGill made this information public to the broader McGill community. The university informed the general public on its website before it informed your own union.
We believe both sides have a responsibility to keep you informed about the status of negotiations. Going forward we expect McGill to demonstrate basic professional courtesy should it need to cancel any further conciliation sessions before announcing it. We trust that they won’t.
McGill’s Misleading Statement
McGill’s statement described our March 26 session as one where both sides would just meet with the conciliator to provide updates, and that April 22 was when the employer would present a comprehensive response, based on the conciliator’s recommendation.
That’s not what happened. McGill failed to mention showing up unprepared on March 26. They failed to mention their commitment to the conciliator to present a serious offer on April 8. Nor did McGill mention that the conciliation meeting they cancelled was mutually scheduled in 2025. Just the facts, McGill. People’s lives are being unfairly affected by McGill University’s ongoing delay tactics.
Where Things Stand
The next conciliation session is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22, 2026, with further dates set for May 6 and May 20.
MUNACA’s bargaining committee will be there, prepared, fighting for the best possible deal for you – the people whose work ensures that McGill, its students and faculty can thrive each day.
We urge all MUNACA members to rely on our communications for complete and accurate information about the progress of negotiations.
We’ll continue to report back to you quickly and accurately at each stage.
In solidarity,
MUNACA Bargaining Committee