CUPEU signs new collective agreement with Concordia 

The new agreement sets hybrid work and condensed work week rules in stone until June of 2026.
Graphic by Keven Vaillancourt / The Concordian

The CUPEU has signed an official agreement with Concordia, setting guidelines that better represent the membership’s demands in hybrid work.

Among other conditions, Concordia cannot refuse less than 30 per cent of remote regular work for an employee without a valid reason. This means employees are entitled to a minimum of three days of remote work on a biweekly basis. 

The previous collective agreement between CUPEU and the university expired on May 31, 2023. In June 2023, Concordia president Graham Carr announced the decision to request faculty return to in-person work four days a week. 

“I am, like you, very disappointed in the approach that upper management has taken regarding the hybrid model guidelines,” CUPEU president Shoshana Kalfon wrote in an August 2023 letter to union members. 

In September 2023, CUPEU reported that 95 per cent of members wanted to be able to work in a hybrid format. 

The union went on strike at the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester. After picketing for over one week, the two parties reached an agreement in principle.

The negotiation applied for employees from the faculties of Fine Arts, Engineering, John Molson School of Business (JMSB), Arts and Science, and Office of Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies (OVPRGS). Other stipulations were stressed for CUPEU members who did not fall under these faculties in order to cover all possible opportunities for the university to access loopholes that could make employees work in person.

CUPEU initially wanted more hybrid days for its employees.

“They [Concordia] refused to budge on three-and-a-half [days]. So, as a compromise, we offered that they could not refuse the minimum without a valid reason, which, in contract negotiations, makes it much harder for them to not give one-and-a-half days to people. Back in 2023, they could unilaterally change it as they wished,” said CUPEU VP of negotiations Sigmund Lam.

On Dec. 17, both parties signed the collective agreement, which had been drafted on Sept. 30. Two signatures are yet to be added to the contract, although the agreement is already in effect.

“We are very happy that we reached an agreement that addresses the needs of both the union members and the university,” said Concordia Deputy Spokesperson Julie Fortier.

“We have grounds to grieve, and they can’t really contest at that point. So this guarantee basically makes it a lot easier to breathe because it’s written into the letter of agreement,” said Lam.

The collective agreement is retroactive, spanning from June 2023 to June 2026. According to the agreement, the employees will receive compensation for what they have been entitled to since last year in the form of retroactive pay.

“I think most of the members who directly benefit from the hybrid working group are happy, thankfully,” said Kalfon. “On the service side, most things are staying the same, so they continue to be happy, I hope. But those of us on the academic side, I think, insist on improvement.”

The official agreement will be published online shortly after Jan. 14. 

“We’re already [in 2025]. You know, in a year, we’re going to start negotiating again,” said  Kalfon. “We’re always after the eight ball getting the negotiations done, but it is a three-year contract, and it is in effect for three years.”

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