News

The USW Local 4120 Memorandum of Agreement can be accessed with your University Login on the Employee Groups & Agreements page of our website

Members of USW Local 4120, which represents about 800 administrative, clerical and technical employees, and the University of Guelph have ratified the renewal Collective Agreement that was tentatively agreed to on September 13, 2014.

Sun Life plan members can now enjoy greater convenience at the dental office with the introduction of online dental pre-determinations.  In addition, plan members can now have their second payer coordination of benefits claim submitted by their dental provider. 

Pre-determination
Plan members are encouraged to have their dentist send a pre-determination (or estimate) for any major dental work. A pre-determination lets plan members know what will be covered by their benefits plan.

The December/January Holiday Schedule - 2014/2015 is now available on the Human Resources website.

Working together with the assistance of a provincially appointed mediator, the University of Guelph and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4120 reached a tentative agreement a few moments ago, which now requires ratification by both parties.

The University and USW 4120, the union that represents approximately 900 University administrative and technical staff, have been negotiating a new agreement since the spring.

Details of the agreement remain confidential pending ratification by the union and the Board of Governors.

On September 10 and 12th, the bargaining committees for the University and the USW will participate in mediation in an effort to negotiate a new collective agreement and avoid a strike.  This follows eight previous bargaining sessions. 

The University’s offer to the USW bargaining team includes wage increases and no concessions, or changes that will affect the job security of USW members. 

The University met with the Union and a provincially appointed Conciliator on August 26 2014.  Our discussions included the university’s proposed wage increase.  The main issue that remains outstanding is finding a pension solution that is acceptable to all parties, including the pension regulator and the government.   

The Conciliator confirmed that the parties would be in a legal strike/lockout position at 12:01 am on September 13, 2014.

The University of Guelph is honoured to recognize all of our staff and faculty celebrating 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service. A list of this year's honourees and more information about our Awards and Recognition Program can be found on the Awards and Recognition page of the HR Website. 

Human Resources is pleased to announce the launch of NEW @ the U, a new employee welcome program.

The University of Guelph aims to provide both a supportive and welcoming environment to its new staff. We take pride in the talented employees we attract to the University of Guelph and are committed to ensuring they get the best possible start we can give them.  NEW stands for New Employee Welcome and that is the primary objective of this newly launched initiative.

The University and USW 4120 bargaining teams mutually agreed and were committed to meet today to continue negotiations even though the Ministry appointed conciliator was not available to assist the parties.  The two parties have been able, over the course of bargaining, to reach agreement on the vast majority of non-monetary issues.