I am thrilled to announce that UWSA members have voted to ratify the 2026 Memorandum of Agreement between the UWSA and University of Waterloo.
The results of the vote are as follows:
- 964 votes were cast, which is 48.3% of 1997 eligible UWSA members.
- 95.9% of the votes were in favour of approving the agreement.
- 4.1% of the votes were opposed.
- 39 members abstained from voting (4.0% of the votes).
Thank you to everyone who voted. We are very pleased with the overwhelming support for this agreement and the new protections it provides staff. This MoA delivers real, structural changes for staff that members have been seeking for years.
I have informed the University of the results of the vote. The University’s Governance & Leadership Committee also approved the agreement on March 25, which means the MoA will be in effect as of tomorrow, April 9.
Implementing the changes
Here’s what we’re doing to put these changes into action for staff:
Compensation and negotiations
- Compensation negotiations will begin immediately, informed by member feedback from our prior MoA consultation process and feedback survey.
- PACSC is dissolved and replaced by the new negotiation process; other matters formerly handled by PACSC move to the Staff Relations Committee.
- We are working with HR to finalize the details for staff salary increases, alongside other compensation-related process changes.
Membership
- Our new membership structure launches May 1, in time to welcome any staff hired in April. There are no changes to services or benefits for current members.
- We are working with HR to implement new membership processes, including tracking eligibility and communicating with eligible staff about UWSA membership.
Policies and governance
- The Staff Relations Committee (SRC) will update policies, including aligning Policy 5 with the new compensation process, adding contract staff to Policy 36 dispute resolution processes, and doing a deep-dive on consistent definitions of Staff across policies.
- The UWSA Board of Directors is establishing new policies and terms of reference to guide association grievances, as well as future compensation strategy and negotiation processes.
Information and communications
- The revised MoA will be published shortly on the Secretariat’s website, with a plain language guide to follow on our website later this year.
- Updates to our website reflecting compensation and membership changes begin next week; some updates will take time, and we appreciate your patience.
Thank you again to everyone who participated in this process. We’ve read all of your feedback and noted what we need to clarify in the short term and what to aim for in the future. Many of your suggestions will shape our efforts outside of the MoA, including policy changes at SRC.
Finally, to those of you who are newly ineligible for UWSA membership: We are still here for you. You will keep getting our emails through August, unless you request otherwise. Please keep reaching out to share what this change means for you—it truly helps shape our approach to maintaining and revising the list of exclusions with UW moving forward, and how we continue to advocate for all staff.