The two sides in a three-week-old strike at York University that has kept about 50,000 undergraduate students out of class will meet Thursday with a mediator to see if there are grounds to resume talking.
The university said in a statement issued Tuesday that it has agreed to meet with representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees' Local 3903, which represents 3,400 teaching assistants, contract faculty and graduate assistants.
"The university has advised the mediator that we will meet with the union on Nov. 27," said a statement on York's website. "That date will mark the beginning of the fourth week of the strike and concern for our students must be paramount."
The university noted the meeting comes one week after the union's membership gave its bargaining team the flexibility to adjust some of its proposals.
Given what is at stake for our 50,000 students, this one week delay in getting to the bargaining table does not suggest urgency on the part of the union to reach a negotiated settlement," said the posting.
The two sides had met on Nov. 13, but talks only lasted a few hours. The university said the union hadn't adjusted its demands enough.
A union spokesperson told CTV Toronto on Wednesday that the union isn't asking for the moon.
"We're definitely not asking for a 30 per cent wage increase ... what we're asking for is to have our wages tied to the cost of living so that our wages are not affected by inflation. It really boils down to that," said Christine Rousseau.
York has offered a 9.25 per cent wage increase over three years. The union had been asking for 11 per cent over two years plus better job security.
On Wednesday, the York University Faculty Association came out in support of Local 3903.
"We support, as a union, as a union must, that CUPE 3903 obtain a fair and equitable settlement," said Arthur Hilliker, the association's president.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Andria Case
