UPDATE:
News Release by OPSEU, via The Canadian News Wire Service
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is taking the provincial government to court over its decision to scrap a task force that was addressing the issue of precarious work in Ontario Colleges.
The College Task Force was a key part of the arbitrator's decision that marked the end of last year's faculty strike. OPSEU says the government's decision to dump the Joint Task Force is a denial of bargaining rights, and therefore a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
OPSEU President Warren Thomas said the Ford government seems to have only one way of doing business: putting an end to progress, dialogue and collaboration.
"Doug Ford might think he's above the law, so maybe a rap on the knuckles by a judge will bring him back down to earth," said Thomas. "He needs to be reminded that he's accountable to Ontarians."
Premier Ford did away with the College Task Force on June 29, 2018 - his first day of office. OPSEU agreed in collective bargaining to refer several bargaining issues, including precarious work (represented by the large number of part-time teachers in the system), to a task force where all sides could discuss and review the issues.
OPSEU's College Faculty bargaining chair, JP Hornick, is a co-applicant of the Charter challenge, and is concerned about what the loss of the task force means for the future of Ontario colleges.
"The government has put quality education in jeopardy, and thrown out a process that was producing results. College faculty are not going to just let this go. We are determined to fix the college system, whatever it takes. However, we believe that the collaborative, evidence-based process the task force established is the best way forward."
ORIGINAL (JULY) STORY
The new provincial Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford has scrapped what had been a key element of the settlement of the bitter, five-weeks-long strike by faculty members at Ontario’s two dozen colleges.
The government has shelved a task force that had been appointed to examine and provide recommendations about many of the outstanding issues that still existed when the work-stoppage was resolved by an arbitrated settlement.
In addition to being a clause in the arbitrated settlement, the establishment of the task force had been promised by the then-Liberal government of former Premier Kathleen Wynne when the strike was ended by a legislated back-to-work order.
The task force was appointed early this year – under the then Liberal government – with this description in a Scene story at the time (http://stclair-src.org/news/need-know-news/task-force-created-address-issues-raised-during-faculty-strike):
Press Release from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development*
(*Editor’s Note: That ministry, by that name, no longer exists. After being in use for two years, the new Conservative government has now changed the name back to its previous title: the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.)
Ontario is working with college students, faculty, support staff, administrators and other experts to develop a forward-looking plan for Ontario's publicly assisted college system.
The province has appointed Sue Herbert to chair the College Task Force. She led the negotiation of the first Strategic Mandate Agreements with colleges; and has served as a Deputy Minister in three Ontario ministries including Education, Northern Development and Mines, and Community and Social Services.
The Task Force includes faculty, college representatives and students, along with industry and postsecondary education experts.
It will make recommendations to support the delivery of high-quality, career-oriented postsecondary education and training that is accessible to students and responsive to changing labour market needs.
The College Task Force will explore a range of topics, including:
• Student success and labour market readiness;
• Program pathways and support for students, including student mental health;
• Staffing models that would enhance program quality and improve student experience;
• Academic governance structures and intellectual property policies in the college system.
The task force will provide recommendations in December, 2018.
"Ontario’s colleges play such an important role in preparing people for jobs in our growing and changing economy,” said (then Liberal) Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development Mitzie Hunter. “It’s been 50 years since Ontario’s college system was created, so this Task Force will look at how to make the college experience a better one for everyone. I’m especially pleased that student success will be at the centre of all these discussions, and that students have a strong voice on the task force."
Hebert added, “The Task Force brings together a diversity of perspectives with the common goal of supporting students, communities, employers and the college system as a whole. I am pleased to be working with this talented and committed group to promote excellence among Ontario’s colleges."
The new Ford government has outright-cancelled or “put the brakes” on a number of initiatives of its Liberal predecessor – and it appears that its decision regarding this task force is the former: it has been scrapped entirely, not just postponed for financial and term-of-reference review.
In an interview-by-email on July 16, RM Kennedy, Chair of the College Faculty Division of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), said his agency had been informed of the task force’s dissolution by letter late in the day on Friday, July 13 – “with no other discussion or notice. The letter provided no rationale (for the government’s action).”
Kennedy added, “We are very disappointed and concerned … (Because) The task force was created out of an arbitrated award, we are exploring all legal options in relation to its cancellation” – meaning that this was not just a political action on the part of the new government, it may have also abrogated the terms of a contract settlement that had been ordered by a provincial Labour Relations Board arbitrator.
The OPSEU official noted, too, that many important issues that had been raised during the strike had yet to be resolved when the back-to-work legislation ordered the faculty back into the classroom. The task force was designed to study those issues, and develop recommendations to both address them and improve the overall operation of the college system.
“We originally proposed the task force, in a significant act of good faith, that allowed us to take many of the unresolved issues that led to the strike and move them to another table so we could get back into the classroom as soon as possible,” Kennedy said.
“One of the most important of these issues involved the colleges' extreme reliance on precarious faculty (the vast majority of college professors work on short-term, low-paid contracts), which affects the quality of education we can deliver. The other issue involved what is referred to as ‘collegial governance’. Ontario's colleges, unlike almost all reputable postsecondary systems in the world, do not have a governance structure that gives faculty and students a say over, or even significant input into, academic decisions and policy. Instead, all authority resides with administrators who often make decisions based on finances alone, instead of academic integrity and quality.
“While our work was still in the beginning stages, one of the great things about the task force is that it gave students, faculty, support staff and administrators all a voice in the future of the college system” … a voice that has now been lost.
The College Student Alliance (CSA), a Toronto-based advocacy organization that represents slightly less than half of the student councils of Ontario’s colleges in dealings with the provincial government, issued this press release on July 16:
The College Student Alliance (CSA) is disappointed the provincial government quietly cancelled the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Task Force, ignoring the opportunity to improve the college sector and student experience.
The Task Force was created to develop recommendations on issues facing the college sector in the wake of the record-breaking strike by college faculty in 2017. With students, faculty, administration, and government around one table, the Task Force was an unprecedented step forward.
“Students are still dealing with negative academic and financial impacts left by the longest strike in college history,” said CSA President Brittany Greig. “By disbanding the Task Force, the government is refusing the opportunity to improve the sector and prevent a devastating strike from happening again.”
With no mention of colleges in the government’s campaign leading up to the provincial election, or in the recent Throne Speech, college students have been left in the dark regarding improvements or changes to the sector they rely on.
The cancellation of the Task Force, announced late afternoon on Friday, July 13, indicates the provincial government has little to no interest in supporting students.
“Ironically, Premier Ford intends to introduce legislation to end the York University strike,” said CSA Director of Advocacy Abdullah Mushtaq. “Cancelling the Task Force sends a message to students and their families that there may be nothing more to look forward to regarding his government’s postsecondary education agenda.”
OPSEU'S OFFICIAL OBJECTION
Several days after the posting of this story, OPSEU President Warren Thomas delivered this letter to Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Merrilee Fullerton:
I am writing to you to express OPSEU’s opposition to the Progressive Conservative government’s termination of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Task Force. It’s impossible to overstate the deep disappointment our union felt when we received Deputy Minister Zegarac’s letter of July 13, 2018, advising that the task force was terminated on June 29, 2018.
On behalf of all OPSEU members, we urge you to do everything in your power to persuade the government to reconsider this decision.
You should be aware that the CAAT Task Force was established following extended negotiations between the Crown, the College Employer Council, and OPSEU. The parties brought their respective interests and experience to those discussions, and OPSEU ultimately agreed to withdraw certain proposals from collective bargaining in order to reach agreement on a Letter of Understanding, entitled “Ontario’s Public Colleges: The Next 50 Years.” The Task Force that was established through this letter brought together representation from key stakeholders, including the government, the College Employer Council, academic faculty, support staff, students and employers. The agenda of the Task Force was innovative, forward looking, and in the interests of all Ontarians.
You should also be aware that the Letter of Understanding states that “The Ministry agrees to accept and endorse this initiative, accepting signatory status as facilitator for the Task Force …”. The Ministry committed that “all recommendations of the Task Force will be considered for funding by Cabinet.”
The Task Force was given a mandate to develop recommendations on a number of identified issues that are significant to OPSEU, and in our view to the future of postsecondary education in Ontario. You will be familiar with the interim report that was issued on April 30, 2018. A final report and recommendations would have been issued to the Ministry in the fall of 2018.
OPSEU strongly opposes the decision to terminate the Task Force, and we will consider all legal avenues if the government persists. It’s important to point out that the Task Force was ordered by Arbitrator William Kaplan in his award after last year’s strike, making this markedly different than some of the decisions of the previous Liberal government that have been terminated or put on hold.
By cancelling the Task Force, the government is withdrawing from its commitments to postsecondary education, as well as the specific commitments that were given to OPSEU and the College Employer Council in the course of collective bargaining. This decision to terminate interferes with the process of collective bargaining and overturns significant outcomes that were achieved by the parties. It certainly leaves the door open to a Charter challenge pursuant to Clause s2(d) “freedom of association”. In addition, the parties, government, and, indeed, Ontarians will lose the opportunity to hear and consider the recommendations of the Task Force.
We look forward to hearing from you once you have had the opportunity to review this information.
