We are very pleased to be able to advise you that we have reached a mediated resolution to three grievances and a complaint to the Ontario Labour Relations Board filed by CUPE 3902 Unit 1.

Under the deal reached with the Union, the University will increase the amount available in the Graduate Student Bursary Fund (GSBF) by $1 million over the course of the contract. The $1 million will come from an anticipated surplus in the Tuition Assistance Fund (TAF). The TAF, which is managed by the University, was established for the first three years of the collective agreement (for a total amount of $1.8 million) to provide tuition assistance for eligible graduate students who are members of the Union. The full amount of the anticipated savings over the three years – $1 million dollars – will be paid to the Union within the next two weeks.

Under the terms of the mediated agreement, the University will also accelerate its contributions to the GSBF, agreeing to make a $1.045 million payment that is due September 2017 in the coming weeks. The University also will make a $1.045 million contribution to the GSBF, as planned, in September of this year.

As part of the agreement, the Union has agreed to begin allocating GSBF bursary funding for 2014-15 to its members as soon as practical, and to distribute all of last year’s funding by October 31, 2016.

As you know, the Union received the first $1.045 million installment of the Graduate Student Bursary Fund last September and to date has not allocated any of these funds to its members. We are very pleased that the funds will now start to flow to Union members.