McGill law professors' strike suspended, students can go back to class

McGill University and the union representing law professors have struck a deal, allowing law students to return to class — for now. 

The school and the union have agreed to suspend the strike, which was set to start today, a day after the university threatened to cancel the semester for its law faculty.

On Monday, due to an impasse in labour talks, McGill's administration sent an email to law school students, saying it would cancel courses taught by union members, unless it agreed to end its strike. 

In a statement released Tuesday morning, the Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) says it is suspending its strike after agreeing to enter into a "process" with the university. The union says that process includes McGill joining all other Quebec universities "in recognizing faculty unions that are governed by collective agreements."

In its statement, it also says the students' return to class would be "without any loss of credits or delay," and that both the professors and the university must work together to avoid a strike resuming as of next Tuesday, Oct. 8.

The statement says the imminent strike "depends on McGill joining AMPL in creating a way forward." 

In a message being sent to students this morning, McGill said both sides have agreed to suspend the strike until the meeting with the arbitrator on Oct. 8.

The school says classes will resume no later than Oct. 3.

The AMPL was certified in November 2022 by the province's labour tribunal but has yet to secure its first collective agreement. Its professors have been on strike since late August, and classes have yet to begin.

On Monday, professors and students criticized McGill for threatening to cancel classes, with many of them saying the university was not negotiating in good faith. The university argued that it wasn't plausible for classes to begin two months into the semester and still finish on time.

Both parties say they are looking to find a "federated" approach to collective agreements between the university and different professors' unions. 

They'll work on agreeing to such a structure between now and the scheduled meeting with the arbitrator.

McGill's law faculty is the first group of professors to unionize at the university, though most non-faculty staff are unionized. 

The university launched a legal challenge of the AMPL's right to unionize.