This is on behalf of Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA)
Email: mrajabi@ocufa.on.ca
[www.ocufa.on.ca]www.ocufa.on.ca
On October 23, the Doug Ford government introduced sweeping changes to the Employment Standard Act through Bill 47, that will inevitably have impacts on our working conditions.
The changes that will most impact our University Community are the repeal of equal pay for equal work for “casual,” “part-time,” or “temporary worker” employee classifications. The abolition of these provisions in the Employment Standard Act will give rise to ever-growing precarious work on our campus and on campuses across our province. This could impact our ability to protect our minimum complement in our next round of collective bargaining, allowing the Central Administration to hire more contract-faculty on campus. This will also have a significant impact on our part-time and contract faculty colleagues and our teaching and research assistants. Our workload and working conditions are intimately tied to that of our colleagues, for this reason, changes being introduced in Bill 47 are cause for great concern.
Furthermore, Bill 47 chips away at existing protections against sex-based pay discrimination. Specifically, it will prevent workers who believed they were victims of sex-based pay discrimination the right to ask their employer to correct discrepancies without the risk of facing reprisal.
The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Association (OCUFA), along with the APUO, the Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA), and the Faculty Unions at Algonquin College and at La Cité, and Fight for $15 and Fairness are organizing a rally at the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Constituency Office at 10 a.m. on Friday November 2. We encourage all Members to join the rally and to invite their students to participate in this action.]
Here is a summary of other notable changes introduced to the Employment Standard Act through Bill 47 that will impact members of the University Community:
Minimum Wage:
- Cancel the scheduled January 1 increase to $15/hour and freeze the minimum wage at $14/hour for the next 33 months. Minimum wage increases tied to inflation to restart in 2020.
Union Certification:
- Replacing card-based union certification with a secret ballot vote.
- Repealing rules that mandated an employer to share employee contact information during a union certification drive.
- Removing employee protections who engage in a union certification drive.
- Repeal the power of the Ontario Labour Relations Board to review and consolidate certified bargaining units.
Personal Emergency Leave:
- Reintroduce the provisions that allow employers to require an employee to provide a medical note from a qualified health practitioner for taking sick days.
- 10 paid personal emergency days repealed to 3 unpaid days for sickness, 3 unpaid family emergency days, and 2 unpaid bereavement leave days.
Equal Pay for Equal Work:
- Repealing equal pay for equal work for part-time, casual, temporary worker and assignment employee status (temporary help agency status).
- Repealing the right of employees who believe they are victims of sex-based pay discrimination to ask their employer to correct these discrepancies.
Employer protection:
- The government is reducing administrative penalties for employer-contravention to the Employment Standards Act.
Rally November 2
10am – 11am
Outside Minister Fullerton’s office
240 Michael Cowpland Dr
Kanata, ON K2M 1P6
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OPSEU Local 415 Communications Officer
