This update is about the bargaining session on April 4 where NAIT finally tabled its wage offer to NASA. We’ll also touch on other settlements in the public sector.
Presentations from NAIT
NAIT presented its current and projected financial details, as well as enrollment projections. Follow the links for the presentation documents.
2025-04 – Financial Update – NASA Presentation
NASA_NAIT Bargaining Intl Enrolment Presentation
NAIT ran through revenue and expense comparisons between Alberta polytechnics, focusing largely on SAIT. Their focus was on revenues from government funding and from student tuition, as well as on spending related to various categories like Instructional, Academic Support, Administration, but also acknowledged through questioning that some management is included in “Instructional” expenses. .
NAIT ran a $38 million surplus for 2024, which included a $22 million land grant. Their revenue projections for 2025 could have resulted in a $25 million surplus, but after spending on technology, furniture, and other items they now project a $13 million surplus for 2025. International student enrolment declines have NAIT projecting deficits of $39.1M in 2026-2027 and $45.8M in 2027-2028.
Past deficits did not stop NAIT from advocating for more money
NAIT ran deficits from 2017-2020 and 2022, and would have in 2023 minus the $7.3M land grant received. This fiscal picture did not stop NAIT’s advocacy for more money from the Alberta government, like for the Advanced Skills Centre.
NAIT advocating to government to hike tuition, but not faculty wages
NAIT said during its financial presentation that it feels limited by the restrictions on the amount they can raise tuition in any given year. They see SAIT charging more, and therefore earning more revenue than us on tuition, and have repeatedly advocated to the government to allow for higher tuition increases than currently allowed.
An initial look at per credit tuition costs between NAIT and SAIT shows per credit tuition costs 26.5% higher at SAIT (Architectural Technology) and even 42% (Advanced Care Paramedic).
This information is included not to endorse NAIT’s position on increasing tuition, but to point out that they do engage in advocacy with the government around financial matters when they feel it is a priority.
NAIT was asked if any of their advocacy was to protect NASA members wages from inflation. NAIT said they had only advocated generally for operational funding, but could not say they were trying to avoid inflationary wage cuts through that advocacy.
NAIT’s wage proposal
NAIT then tabled their wage proposal:
At ratification – 3%
July 1, 2025 – 3%
July 1, 2026 – 2%
July 1, 2027 – 2%
That’s 10% over the four years, or an average of only 2.5% per year. As a reminder, the real value of NASA members’ wages has declined by 17.1% since 2017 through inflation. Inflation through to 2027 is projected to be more than 10%, and could easily grow higher by the effects of tariffs.
NAIT’s offer does not include any retroactive pay. If NASA members chose to accept that offer before July 1, you would get an immediate 3% hike, but no back pay. After July 1 it would be a 6% raise, and no back pay.
Settlements for CUPE, UNA, faculty at SAIT, Portage, and Lethbridge College all included retroactive pay. The SAIT Academic Staff Association (SAFA) told NASA that SAIT’s 3% per year wage proposal contained retro pay when they tabled it; it was not a contentious issue to bargain over. This means those staff will get a lump sum payment for all hours worked going back to the date that their collective agreement expired.
Do you deserve to have the real value of your wages cut by inflation?
This was a question NASA asked of NAIT – did you all deserve the loss to the value of your wages that continue to accumulate? Do you deserve that going forward if tariff nonsense makes inflation even worse? NAIT avoided answering the question, seemingly not understanding why it was relevant. NASA pointed out that if NAIT agreed that NASA members deserved better then both parties could work to pressure the government for a better offer, just like NAIT advocates to the government for more funding for the Advanced Skills Centre. It’s one thing to make a low offer to NAIT staff because the government is forcing them to, it’s another altogether to do so because they agree with the government’s position.
NAIT also would not give a direct answer to a question of whether or not the wage offer they tabled was the highest possible allowed under the mandate letter provided by the Alberta government. With other institutes settling for more than 10%, it’s reasonable to presume that NAIT has not reached the limit of what they can offer.
NAIT dismisses other public sector settlements
NASA had pointed out that between UNA, CUPE, and the tentative agreement out for a vote with the ATA over 76,000 public sector workers have settled or are voting on agreements that are above 12%, as those tentative agreements have “sweeteners” adding monetary value in ways that aren’t captured in a 3% per year descriptor. For example, the UNA agreement is not only a 3% per year increase to the grid, but they have increased the amount between each grid step to a minimum 4% meaning their increment raises have become higher, they will also have their current grid step increased, have had the bottom step removed, and a new step added at the top. That will add up to money for UNA members more than 12% over those four years.
NAIT believes that those settlements are not worth considering, that we should only look at post-secondary. In saying that we should only look at post-secondary, NAIT has still shortchanged NASA members with its offer, as collective agreements settled at SAIT and Portage College were for 12% over four years instead of 10%, and they received retro pay.
Similar posturing happened in 2022 where bigger unions like AUPE had settled for 2.75% while post-secondary employers were still offering rollbacks, but after the U Lethbridge strike vote post-secondary employers fell in line with the other public sector settlements and offered 2.75% as well.
Serious concessions still on the table
NAIT’s wage proposal did not come with an offer to remove any of its other proposals to make your collective agreement and working conditions worse. Significant concessions still remain including:
Having continuing staff now pay 40% of extended health premiums;
Taking away the right of NASA to say yes or no to cuts to your benefit coverage;
Increasing the class size formula – making it easier to hike class sizes with no compensation;
Allowing NAIT to schedule you within a 12 hour window instead of 10 hours;
Denying collective agreement rights to NASA members instructing English as a Second Language courses.
As it stands today, NAIT’s proposals are then for only a 10% increase over four years, no retro pay, the above named concessions and more.
No response from NAIT on paid domestic violence leave
NASA reminded NAIT that on August 1, 2024 NASA tabled a proposal to add provisions for paid leave to support NASA members in the unfortunate case of domestic violence and has yet to receive a counter proposal. NAIT stated they think this is “monetary,” as though it should be tied to wage negotiations, when we know that other post-secondary institutes like the University of Lethbridge and Olds College have paid domestic violence leave for staff, and it has not impacted their wage settlements when negotiating.
Poll questions – Concessions and Retroactive Pay
The last poll asked if you agreed that there should be no concessions in this round of negotiations, with an overwhelming number of respondents agreeing.
Today’s poll is about retro pay. Retroactive pay is typically a lump sum payment to all staff who had worked since the expiration of the agreement, recognizing that all hours worked are deserving of the increased value being offered by the raise for that period. A collective agreement without retroactive pay is essentially a financial reward for employers to drag out negotiations to take longer.
The question asked was: “Would you accept a wage offer that does not include retro pay?”
Stay tuned for more updates as we approach mediation on April 28.
In solidarity,
Trevor Zimmerman
NASA Labour Relations Director and Bargaining Committee Spokesperson