What’s the difference between a strike mandate and strike action?

A strike mandate (i.e. a membership vote in favour of strike) is approval given by Members to our elected Executive Board to take future strike action, if and when it deems such action necessary. A strike mandate could provide the Negotiations Committee enough bargaining leverage on its own, without actually going on strike, to have the employer return to the table and enhance their offer. The hope is that negotiations would continue even after a strike mandate.

If the employer’s position doesn’t change at the bargaining table following a strike mandate / vote, preparations will begin for a strike action. This would mean the withdrawal of all labour, in the form of refusing to fulfill professional/employment duties for the University, including all teaching, scholarship and service. Should strike action come to pass, information about the procedures by which it would be managed will be communicated to members. Again, the MRFA prefers to arrive at negotiated settlement without resorting to Job Action but the Association is prepared in the event that Job Action becomes a reality.