Contract negotiations between the University of Winnipeg's administration and faculty association take on an urgent tone Wednesday.

Talks begin for the first time with a conciliator, appointed by the province after both sides agreed to seek the help when their direct discussions collapsed last weekend.

If the impasse is not resolved by midnight, members of the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association (UWFA) have vowed to hit the picket lines.

'The association has to protect its rights … to take job action if its bargaining demands are not met.'—Shannon Sampert, UWFA spokesperson

About 350 professors, librarians, coaches and counsellors would be part of the walkout that would begin at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

They have been working without a contract for a year and the most contentious issue standing in the way of an agreement is wages.

The UWFA claims its members are underpaid compared to other universities in the province and want an 8.4 per cent increase over three years.

But Dan Hurley, the university's associate vice president for external affairs, has said tuition for students would have to rise 10 per cent in that same time in order for the institution to afford the salaries.

'Fear mongering'

The UWFA has brought in the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to negotiate on its behalf after the talks broke off then accused the university of "fear mongering" on Tuesday.

"The University of Winnipeg Administration continued its fear mongering today, suggesting that the entrance of the Canadian Association of University Teacher's Peter Simpson as chief negotiator means a long strike is imminent," UWFA spokesperson Shannon Sampert stated in a news release.

"While the association remains committed to its deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, we are open to working with the conciliator to resolve the dispute and avoid a strike.

"In fact, the faculty association asked administration in early February to consider the appointment of a conciliator and was ignored."

"The association has to protect its rights, assigned under the terms of provincial labour law, to take job action if its bargaining demands are not met," Sampert a U of W professor, added.

"A strike and the appointment of a conciliator are not mutually exclusive."