Business Reflection #2

UNB students make case for strike compensation

Source: CBC News - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/unb-students-make-case-for-strike-compensation-1.2520909

Date: February 3, 2014

    Although the strike at UNB has finally come to an end, there are still many issues left to be resolved. Some of the most concerning issues is the time that students have lost, how this time is going to be made up, and what type of compensation, if any, will the students receive.

    It has been decided that the UNB in Saint John will be cancelling March break for their students. This will serve as a way for students to catch up on at least 1 week of the 3 weeks that they have missed. The university will also be extending the year until April 17. This, as one would expect, is causing a lot of controversy for students.

    On the one hand, there are many students who are upset about March break being cancelled. Students will often book trips and vacations on March break. Many airlines will not reimburse customers fully for cancelations and the same goes for many hotels and resorts. This is one of the biggest concerns that students are having. Students have already had 3 weeks off of school following a 2 week Christmas break, so the issue is not the time off or break from classes but rather the money that they will be losing on top of tuition already lost.

    On the other hand, however, this is an entire week of classes that students are getting back from the 3 week strike! Education is much higher on the priority list than trips and vacations! Yes, it certainly is disappointing for the people who had plans; however, giving up March break is not that big of a sacrifice to make in order to get caught up on missed time!

    When it comes to the extension of the school year, I can not see this having a large negative impact. Perhaps some students had jobs lined up, but I don't think that 1 or 2 weeks delay should pose that much of a problem for the employer. With this extension, students will catch up on even more time of lost classes!

    Many students are still looking for some other type of compensation when it comes to the tuition money that they have lost. I think that the students should be reimbursed for tuition money lost; however, one could argue that with the cancelation of March break and the year extension the lost money will be made up. No decision has been made on this subject as of today.

    When it comes down to it, I think that the actions the university has taken is fantastic! With the combination of March break and the year extension, the 3 weeks the students have missed will be almost fully made up! There are always going to be some people losing out on any decision that the university is going to make in this situation; I think that their decision is the best that they could have made and is the best way to catch up on missed time.