February 2023 Newsletter
Welcome
It's a new year and the first CEC newsletter of 2023. We hope everyone is having a good winter semester and that Wiarton Willie's prediction of an early spring is correct.
In this newsletter, we share sector-wide news and provide updates on Bill 124 and the academic workload task force status.
Follow the CEC on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay informed between newsletters.
What's going on?
Best Employer in Canada by Forbes Magazine |
Bill 26, Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022 |
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In January 2023, Forbes magazine released a list of the best employers in Canada. The ranking was based on a survey of more than 12,000 Canadians to create a final list of 300 companies and institutions. Sheridan College received the number 1 ranking, Durham College ranked 112, and Humber College ranked 135. |
Late last year, post-secondary Minister Jill Dunlop proposed Bill 26 to give Colleges and Universities clearer rights to terminate and stop the re-hiring of employees who have been found to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a student. The bill passed with unanimous consent of all MPPs and has now become law. Colleges will have until July 1, 2023, to implement sexual misconduct policies.
More information on the Bill is available here |
Bargaining Update
Bill 124
In 2019, the Ontario Government passed Bill 124, Protecting Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act.
Bill 124 limits compensation increases to 1% per year for a three-year moderation period for all public service employees. On November 29, 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that Bill 124 was unconstitutional and violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court ruled that the act is “to be void and of no effect.”
The Ontario government has formally filed an appeal of a court decision that struck down Bill 124.
All three College collective agreements include a letter of understanding on Bill 124. The College and Union bargaining teams will be meeting with the agreed to mediators to engage in discussions.
Academic Workload Task Force
In September 2021, Arbitrator Kaplan awarded a neutral-led joint academic workload task force to review current practices and create a report for February 1, 2024. Michelle Flaherty, has been named as the neutral chair of the workload task force. Chair Flaherty is an arbitrator on the academic arbitrators list, and was also deemed the sole arbitrator for WRAs respecting changes to mode of delivery during this collective agreement. Management and Union, workload task force members, have now met and started the review process.
As a reminder, this task force shall discuss and examine the following issues relating to the assignment of work to full-time faculty under Article 11 and partial-load faculty under Article 26:
- The impact, if any, of mode of delivery on preparation, evaluation and feedback, and complementary functions
- Whether and to what extent there has been an increase in the amount of time normally spent on “normal administrative tasks”
- The impact of AODA compliance and student accommodation requirements
- The impact of language of instruction and/or student proficiency with the language of instruction
- The application of Article 11.04 to, and issues related to the workload of, 24 Counsellors and Librarians
- A review of the factors associated with different evaluation methods
- A review of the attributed time for preparation, for courses with a “Special A” and “Special B” designation
- A review of the workload formula and of Modified Workload Arrangements, including their application to various program and course types
- and any other matters deemed appropriate by the Neutral Chair of the Task Force.
