Law professors at McGill University go on unlimited strike

McGill University's campus is seen Tuesday, November 14, 2017, in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

The Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) is launching an indefinite strike on Wednesday in response to what it is calling McGill University's refusal to "engage in real negotiations."

On April 11, the association announced that more than three-quarters of its members had voted in favour of an indefinite strike if a tentative agreement was not reached by April 23.

"Since then, continuing what it has done over the past three years, McGill has not even attempted to negotiate a fair agreement," the AMPL said in a press release issued Tuesday. "It has not agreed to bargaining sessions of adequate duration or frequency. It has not negotiated in good faith."

The association represents full-time professors at the university's Faculty of Law and demands, among other things, "protection against arbitrary decisions affecting their careers," salary increases and a say in faculty management.

"McGill's refusal to negotiate standard clauses common to all other universities triggered this strike," said Richard Janda, chief negotiator for the AMPL, in a press release.

He adds, "rather than working with faculty to avoid hardship for students, the administration is doing everything it can to impose adversity on students. It has stated that its objective is to eliminate the AMPL, in direct violation of Quebec law."

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 24, 2024.