Unlike the last time we were in negotiations in 2008, when Laurier faculty salaries were 16th out of 16 reporting universities, we are no longer “running in last place” (WLUFA Newsletter 6 October 2008). Today we stand at 14 out of 16. We are above Nipissing and UOIT. We are above two universities with which we simply do not compare given our size or our program offerings.
Now the bad news…
While this marks a marginal improvement, faculty salaries are still well below where Laurier stands in terms of its reputation, achievements, and contributions to the knowledge economy. According to Felice Martinello, a labour economist whom WLUFA has again commissioned to provide an analysis of salary data provided to OCUFA by Statistics Canada, we lag behind those institutions that are commensurate with us in terms of our size and status as a comprehensive university. You might well be asking yourselves, after the success of our last Collective Agreement, with its Ontario System adjustment, Salary Anomalies Fund and increases in Career Development Increment, how is it that Laurier still lags behind? The answer is that the whole Ontario university salary structure moved upward at about the same upward rate as Laurier. Thus, relative to faculty salaries at other Ontario Universities, Laurier faculty salaries are still some of the lowest salaries in Ontario.
Yet, in our last Collective Agreement we have corrected something of the gap between our own ranks within Laurier, most notably between full professors and the lower ranks, but not the gap between us and other universities in the Ontario system, especially those universities with which we are now competing. In some cases, the gap has widened.
The situation at Brantford is more dire. Brantford members earn an estimated $9,594 to $11,294 less than other WLUFA faculty after adjusting for sex, rank, type of appointment, number of years since highest degree and age group. These numbers represent about a 10% difference in comparison with the average Laurier faculty salary.
The salaries of Professional librarians at Laurier are lower than those at comparable institutions. As Martinello demonstrates, Laurier’s professional librarians earn on average $3,451 or 6.12% less than their colleagues at other Ontario Universities (based on 2009/2011 CAUT data). This difference is more significant than might otherwise first appear given the fact that, on average, Laurier’s professional librarians have significantly more experience than other librarians in Ontario universities.
To help you figure out how much you are underpaid we have reproduced some of the data from Martinello’s report. Table A provides the data related to the average salary difference between Laurier and the Ontario University system, expressed as a percentage. Table B addresses the same set of differences, but provides them in dollar amounts. In both Tables, a positive number means that the Laurier salary is higher than the average salary of the Ontario University system while negative number means that the Laurier salary is lower than the Ontario University system.
As you can see from both Tables, all age groups, all ranks and all ages within ranks are underpaid relative to the Ontario University system except for 60-64 year old associate professors. Thus, the pain of low salaries at Laurier is shared across all faculty members. The WLUFA bargaining team will be addressing these issues at the table.
Table A: Differences between WLU and Ontario System Average Salaries 2009/10 as a percentage
Age Group
Rank |
30-34 |
35-39 |
40-44 |
45-49 |
50-54 |
55-59 |
60-64 |
65-69 |
All Ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor | -9.15% | -9.13% | -5.86% | -8.25% | -7.34% | -6.35% | -7.18% | ||
| Associate | -9.27% | -10.66% | -12.06% | -8.08% | -1.43% | +0.33% | -8.30% | ||
| Assistant | -13.43% | -6.99% | -10.96% | -8.85% | -12.86% | -27.00% | -10.84% | ||
| Lecturer | -27.06% | -18.08% | |||||||
| All Ranks | -13.62% | -9.63% | -10.80% | -13.20% | -14.59% | -6.97% | -4.44% | -2.35% | -11.82% |
Table B: Differences between WLU and Ontario System Average Salaries 2009/10 in dollars
Age Group
Rank |
30-34 |
35-39 |
40-44 |
45-49 |
50-54 |
55-59 |
60-64 |
65-69 |
All Ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor | -11,615 | -11,965 | -7,991 | -11,374 | -10,589 | -9,461 | -9,992 | ||
| Associate | -9,393 | -11,081 | -12,575 | -8,972 | -1,777 | +430 | -9,139 | ||
| Assistant | -10,951 | -6,111 | -9,481 | -7,799 | -11,001 | -21,810 | -9,308 | ||
| Lecturer | -19,888 | -13,921 | |||||||
| All Ranks | -11,120 | -8,762 | -10,670 | -13,785 | -15,984 | -8,669 | -5,983 | -3,443 | -12,656 |