The University of Saskatchewan says that, after several months of bargaining, it has been unable to reach agreement with CUPE Local 1975, representing support staff. Neither collective bargaining nor mandatory mediation has been fruitful. The Defined Benefit Pension agreement continues to be an issue. The university says the current plan has cost it an additional $29.8 million beyond normal contributions over the past decade. It’s expected that will continue into the future. The university says these are funds that are being diverted from teaching and research. CUPE 1975 is the only labour group at the university that is benefiting from an open Defined Benefit Pension Plan. In a release, the university says an arbitration decision in 2017 confirmed that the university has the right to make changes to the plan in order to address these financial concerns. The Union says it has a strike mandate from its members but is not yet in a legal strike position.