The University signed an agreement yesterday with the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) which will provide greater compensation for nominally part-time or "casual" employees who worked full-time hours.

Over 400 employees will be affected and, although the compensation packages differ, most of them will be converted to the HUCTW full-time union payroll.

The packages differ in size from $250 to $3,000 annually, depending on how much is owed to each employee, and will pay out over one to four years. While both University and union officials could not cite exact dollar amounts, both said the total cost for the University would be in the millions.

Casual employees are classified as employees who work less than 17.5 hours a week or for less than three months total. They typically receive less pay, are not granted benefits and have little job security.

A joint statement was released by the University and the union yesterday after the agreement was signed.

"It is a strong settlement for our employees," said President Neil L. Rudenstine in a statement. "...The Union and our staff deserve a great deal of credit for the creativity, thoroughness and constructive spirit they have shown throughout this process."

This whole process was set in motion back in the spring of 1998 when the union started to bring the issue to the University.

Partially spurred on by the public attention of the Living Wage campaign, University officials began to attempt to get a numerical understanding of the problem in front of them, and negotiations intensified over the summer.