��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ

On October 7, 2025, the Committees for the Board and AUPE met in person to continue informal mediation discussions.

The Board had previously tabled a comprehensive bargaining package in May 2025. AUPE had indicated it would be providing a full monetary proposal for discussion on October 7th. However, in the days leading up to our scheduled informal mediation, the Board was informed that due to internal AUPE discussions, major monetary proposals would not be tabled at this time.

During the meeting on October 7th, the Board expressed its willingness to use the remaining scheduled dates in October and November to discuss monetary items.  Four additional bargaining dates had been planned.

Despite this, AUPE advised the Board during the brief meeting that it wished to end the informal mediation process and requested the mediator to “book out”.  The next step in the bargaining process will be for the parties to complete negotiations of an Essential Services Agreement, after which formal mediation can proceed.

As a result, the previously scheduled October and November bargaining dates have been cancelled. Given the time required to complete the essential services process, we don’t anticipate beginning formal mediation until early 2026.

The Board remains committed to engaging in the collective bargaining process in good faith and looks forward to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement.

The bargaining committees for both the Board and AUPE met to continue informal mediation on August 22, 2025. The parties were able to reach agreement on a couple of outstanding proposals. 

The parties are next scheduled to meet in October 2025. The Board looks forward to ongoing discussions with AUPE regarding the outstanding monetary and non-monetary matters at our next mediation dates. 

The committees for the Board and for AUPE met on May 12, 2025, to continue the informal mediation process that was started earlier this year. The parties were able to sign off on several articles of the collective agreement, and continue to work towards narrowing the issues in collective bargaining. The parties are next scheduled to meet on June 16 & 17, 2025. 

The bargaining committees for the Board and AUPE met for informal mediation on January 10, 2025. During that meeting, the parties had some discussions regarding outstanding items. The Board’s committee tabled several proposals, and information was shared regarding outstanding proposals. The parties are tentatively scheduled to meet in late February for further informal mediation.

The Board and AUPE’s bargaining committees met on October 28th and 29th. The Board and AUPE’s bargaining committees previously met in July, and on October 16th and 17th. The Board has tabled a number of proposals in previous meetings, and sought to advance the collective bargaining process. 

In this most recent round of meetings, the Board tabled proposals regarding several parts of the Collective Agreement, including responses to AUPE committee proposals. Additionally, the Board initiated discussions regarding certain proposals that the parties had in their ingoing proposals, which had not yet been discussed. There are still articles within the parties’ non-monetary proposals where discussions have not started, or have started and have not been completed. The Board looks forward to those continued discussions. 

AUPE advised the Board on the afternoon of October 29th that it would be applying for “informal mediation”. Informal mediation is a process whereby a party can ask for a mediator to informally assist with the bargaining process. This was an unusual request to the Board, in particular as discussions on matters in the non-monetary proposals are not done between the parties. The Board has however agreed to move forward with the informal mediation process AUPE has initiated. We are hopeful that the parties will continue to have productive discussions, including regarding the items where discussions have yet to begin. 
 

The bargaining committees for the Board and AUPE met on October 16th and 17th. The committees had productive discussions, and were able to sign off on several proposals. The committees are scheduled to meet on October 28th and 29th. The Board’s committee looks forward to our ongoing discussions with AUPE’s bargaining committee.

On July 24, 25, and 26, 2024, AUPE and the Board’s Teams met to bargain collectively. The parties exchanged ingoing non-monetary proposals. Bargaining was productive and discussions between the parties were positive. The parties were able to sign off on a number of articles.

AUPE’s Team has provided its monetary proposal. The Board’s Team has not provided its monetary proposal at this time. That proposal will likely be tabled at a later date, following discussions on non-monetary proposals. That is consistent with the Board’s normal approach in bargaining.

This round of collective bargaining is being undertaken in the context of several significant challenges for the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ. We have seen a significant decrease in domestic enrollment (approx. 23%) since Fall 2019. We have similarly seen a decrease in our provincial operating grant; it has fallen by over 20% since 2019. These are among the significant operational challenges we face, and within which we are bargaining.

We will be meeting with AUPE’s Team in October 2024 to resume bargaining. We are pleased with the tone and tenor of negotiations to date and look forward to next steps.

On April 02, 2024, the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors received a notice to bargain from the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), Local 053, which represents non-academic support staff at the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. As part of the collective bargaining process, the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Board of Governors has now officially responded to AUPE and requested suggestions for opening dates to begin discussions.

The purpose of these discussions will be to arrive at a new collective agreement that both supports the work of AUPE employees and enables the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to succeed as one of Canada’s leading academic and research institutions. The ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ respects and values the significant contributions of AUPE employees and the role they play at ULethbridge.

The Board negotiating team is confident that positive, open conversations will lead to productive bargaining sessions and ultimately a mutually beneficial agreement that will position the ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ and its AUPE staff for continued success moving forward. The ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ is committed to transparency throughout the negotiation process and will share regular updates with the community as bargaining progresses. These updates can be found on the labour relations section of the newly designed Human Resources website.