On August 22, the APUO filed for conciliation. This entails submitting a request with the Ontario Ministry of Labour to appoint a conciliator who acts as a neutral third-party to assist negotiating parties move closer toward a mutual agreement.
Here is the reasoning behind our filing.
Progress Overview: Where We Stand
In our second bargaining communication, we updated you about the diligent work of your Negotiation Team in answering all the Employer’s questions regarding our proposals for addressing increasing workloads, improving equity, and protecting our rights, and noted that our proposals for protecting high quality education and research and democratizing decision-making were set to soon be discussed.
Since then, your Negotiation Team has presented all APUO proposals and answered the Employer’s questions. To date, both parties have agreed upon new text relating to five APUO proposals and seven Employer proposals. It is important to note that any proposals for which the parties have reached agreement will only be formalized upon ratification by APUO Members and the signing of a complete Collective Agreement package.
Bargaining was paused during the weeks of July 29 and August 5 to allow members of both negotiating teams to take summer vacations. Since returning to the table, on August 13, the Employer has rejected several of our key proposals and expressed an unwillingness to continue negotiating many of these. Very little movement has been made on important issues of governance, workload and high quality education and research.
Improving Equity and Protecting Our Rights
Despite the Employer being receptive to discussing some of our proposals about improving equity and protecting our rights, its Negotiating Team has rejected our more substantive proposals such as those relating to Members’ privacy rights and access to on-campus childcare services.
Addressing Increased Workloads and Protecting High Quality Education and Research
The Employer has been averse to our proposals relating to addressing increasing workloads and protecting high quality education and research. Most proposals we have advanced under these pillars have either been flatly rejected or have not yet received a response. The parties have yet to table their financial proposals. Nonetheless, the Employer has been pushing its narrative of financial instability, the need for budget cuts, and a need for more savings. Your Negotiation Team consistently responds to these claims by pointing out that budgets are about priorities and that the Central Administration continues to fail to prioritize uOttawa’s teaching and research missions.
The Employer has yet to respond to key proposals for improving uOttawa’s student-to-professor/librarian ratios by increasing the APUO complement, improving the teaching assistant allocation formulae, and establishing a university-wide maximum teaching load of 12-credit per year. We remain hopeful the conversations set to take place about these key proposals will be fruitful.
Democratizing Decision-Making
Your Executive Committee has been especially troubled by the Employer’s response to our proposals aimed at democratizing decision-making. These proposals do not create any additional costs for the Employer; an argument your Negotiation Team has emphasized. Nonetheless, the Employer has flatly rejected eight of our 11 proposals, with two awaiting responses, and one having been countered with the inclusion of significant restrictions. Meanwhile, the Employer has submitted proposals that would exclude all Department Chairs and Vice-Deans from the APUO and allow Deans to delegate their responsibilities in grievance processes.
The Employer is clearly seeking to strengthen and further centralize its governance powers while categorically refusing to allow APUO Members like yourself the right to meaningfully participate in university decision-making. Collegial governance, along with academic freedom, is the bedrock upon which both the principle of university autonomy and our ability to fulfill the university mission of preserving, transmitting, and developing knowledge rests.
Next Steps: Conciliation and the need for your on-going Support
The Employer’s refusal to consider large numbers of our proposals, including almost all those aimed at democratizing decision-making, has resulted in your APUO Executive deciding to file for conciliation.
As we await the appointment of a conciliator, the Negotiation Team will continue bargaining with the Employer in the hope that an agreement can be reached.
Your ongoing support is critical to the Team’s efforts. If you haven’t already put up a poster on your office door and would like to submit an order, please write to action@apuo.ca. We also invite you to download and use our new Zoom backgrounds. Let’s show the employer we are united and determined!
