Arbitrations and Grievances

APSA is representing numerous members with grievances on bullying and harassment and hours of work. We can't give any details due to confidentiality issues. Please see this infographic on the Life of a Grievance to learn more about how the grievance process works.

Bargaining

The bargaining process with Jim Dorsey is ongoing and committee chair, Kris Nordgren, will send an update shortly. The University and APSA have currently signed off on the term of the agreement (length of the contract) and the general wage increase, which is 2% per year for 2019, 2020 and 2021, with retroactive pay for 2019 and 2020. For more information on how bargaining works, see this infographic on Collective Bargaining. APSA has spoken to PSEC regarding the Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate and the scope of that funding for our members.

Hours of Work

The University has sent out communication on Hours of Work. SFU has not negotiated any new policy language for AD 10.13, and APSA is not in agreement with the current interim process. We will be pursuing updated policy language and clarifying what the Employment Standards Act says about managers vs. non-managers and other processes that do not align with the Employment Standards Act in our bargaining process. Here is the latest communication from APSA regarding Hours of Work.

Pension

There has been no further information on the pension amendments. APSA is still in favour of the amended changes outlined in 2018 by the EJPC and will continue to advocate towards getting a plan that best serves our entire membership. For how your pension plan works, please see this infographic on our pension structure.

APSA is currently undergoing a search for a new pension trustee who will be approved by both the board of directors and the board of governors.

COVID-19

SFU has provided more information on the return to campus plan here. We continue to discuss workplace safety and COVID-19 with SFU senior administration and have released our return to campus survey results. 

Pop-up Vaccination Clinics on SFU Surrey and Burnaby Campus

Anyone aged 12 and over can get their first or second vaccine shot on campus. There's no need to make an appointment, and you can find the dates, hours and locations of these clinics on the SFU website.

Mask Mandate on all SFU campuses

As of August 25, 2021, masks were mandatory in all indoor common areas and learning spaces on all SFU campuses. See President Joy Johnson's message on the mask mandate.

Vaccine Status declaration and rapid screening

SFU requires a self-declaration of staff and faculty vaccine status beginning and will request those who choose not to declare their status to get a rapid screening test. SFU has partnered with the Travel Medicine and Vaccination Centre (TMVC) and is offering rapid screening tests using a mid-nasal swab. 

Read President Joy Johnson's message on declaring your vaccination status.

Learn more about SFU's fall safety plan

APSA is consulting with our association lawyer to help determine the merits of SFU's new requirements. We will update you as soon as we know more.

The Province and WorkSafeBC have recently announced a move away from area-specific COVID-19 safety plans to one institutional Communicable Disease Prevention Plan. A new Communicable Disease Safety Plan is being developed for campuses by SFU. Faculties and departments will no longer be required to develop their own plans and instead will be guided by SFU’s Communicable Disease Prevention Plan. As we make this transition, signage and room limitations across campus will be removed. The employee groups have had discussions with the principals involved in this transition.