A historic agreement – the first of its kind at Memorial – was signed during a small ceremony on the St. John’s campus on Monday, March 9.

Chief negotiators with the Lecturer’s Union of Memorial University of Newfoundland (LUMUN) – which represents per course instructors – signed their first-ever contract with the university.

Memorial reached a tentative collective agreement with the union in December and the agreement was ratified by union members and the Board of Regents.

LUMUN represents per course instructors who teach roughly 300 course sections a semester.

Representatives from the union and the university were on-hand for the signing ceremony on Monday.

The agreement includes the provincial template for wage increases of eight per cent, four per cent, four per cent, and four per cent in a four-year agreement. It also recognizes seniority in the appointment process. 

Memorial said the inaugural agreement will lay the foundation for the university's future relationship with per course instructors.

Those attending the contract signing included Robert Lewis, acting president of LUMUN, Gail Lem, the union’s chief negotiator, Richard Butt, a per course instructor at Grenfell College, and Lesley Thompson, per course instructor, Department of French and Spanish.

Also attending were Morgan Cooper, director of Faculty Relations and chief negotiator, Amy Wyse, associate director of Faculty Relations, Dr. Chris Loomis, vice-president (academic) pro tempore, Dr. Eddy Campbell, acting president, Dr. Holly Pike, acting principal, Grenfell College, Glen Roberts, manager, Pensions and Benefits, Department of Human Resources, and Dr. Chris Youe, head, Department of History.