By now, you have likely seen Arbitrator Kaplan’s decision, released on Friday afternoon. It concludes this round of bargaining, which lasted 15 months, in the middle of a pandemic and under the wage constraints of Bill 124.
We have much to be proud of, including having achieved a concession-free agreement, with gains for our collective membership, without pausing classes or a loss of pay.
What concessions did the Colleges table during bargaining?
On September 15, 2021 the Colleges tabled proposals that limited our sick days, reduced the time attributed for student evaluation/feedback, increased the number of weekly teaching hours and annual teaching weeks for certain programs and explicitly denied the right of Partial-Load faculty to contracts with more than 7 teaching hours under the Partial Load registry. The Kaplan Award includes no employer-proposed concessions.
What gains does the Kaplan Award include?
- Wages & Benefits – 1% per year increase over 3 years and language to reopen wage negotiations if Bill 124 is overturned or amended; Increases in benefits to be determined following final calculation of the “remainder” of 1% total increase to total compensation not going to wage increase.
- Workload – Starting in Winter 2023, mandated discussions between the faculty and their chair regarding the amount of additional time that will be attributed on the SWF for multi-modal delivery; Coordinators are entitled to receive a specific list of duties reduced to writing prior to the acceptance of the position; A neutral-led Workload Task Force that does not involve the government and cannot be cancelled by the government, to produce a report with recommendations by February 1, 2024.
- Equity and Indigeneity – Inclusion of language to ensure that processes are equitable in nature and effect; bereavement leave extended to one’s chosen family; Indigenous Knowledge Qualifications are now taken into account when determining starting step placement of new Indigenous faculty; 2 Indigenous arbitrators to be added to the agreed-to list.
- Counsellors – Counsellor class definition updated, reflecting the breadth of work currently performed by counsellors.
- Partial-Load Advancements – Service credit for step increases and seniority on the PL registry to when classes are scheduled on holidays; Eligible PL faculty now have seniority rights to teach courses they have previously taught as Part-time or Sessional; PL faculty have the right to bridge benefits for gaps of up to 5 months between semesters.
We are proud and pleased with the outcome, which is a significant step forward for Ontario college faculty.
What is next?
There will be a series of province wide town halls to unpack the agreement. At those meetings, you will hear directly from our Bargaining Team.
At a Local level, we will be hosting a series of workshops on the impacts of the new agreement for us Algonquin College. Please stay tuned to your e-mail for updates.
On behalf of the entire Local 415 leadership team, we thank you for your patience, strength and resolve during this particularly challenging round of bargaining.
In solidarity,
Your Local 415 Leadership Team
Annette Bouzi, President
Judy Puritt, First Vice-President
Ala’ Qadi, Second Vice-President
Tracy Henderson, Chief Steward
Martin Lee, Secretary
Shawn Pentecost, Treasurer