Dear members,
On July 12, we informed you that we had reached an agreement in principle with the Central Administration for a new Collective Agreement. The Executive Committee has reviewed and approved the tentative agreement, which will be presented in detail for ratification at a Special General Meeting on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 (details to follow). If approved by APUO members, the new Collective Agreement will be in effect for the period spanning from May 1, 2021, to April 30, 2024.
Key Highlights of the Tentative Agreement:
Changes to benefits
| Coverage type | Implementation | Change |
| Psychologist group coverage | January 1, 2022 | Increase coverage from $1,000 per year at 50% to $3,000 per year at 50% |
| Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) for active members | January 1, 2022 | A slight increase to the HCSA amount available. |
Salary increases and adjustments
In accordance with the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019 (Bill 124), improvements to salary were limited to a one percent (1%) increase per year for three (3) years.
| 2021-2022 1% Full PTR with indexation | 2022-2023 1% Full PTR with indexation | 2023-2024 1% Full PTR with indexation |
The Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act is currently being challenged in court on the grounds that it interferes with collective bargaining rights. The APUO and the Central Administration have signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that in the event the Act is struck down, salaries will be reviewed and renegotiated for the Collective Agreement period.
Professional Expenses Reimbursement Funds (PER)
Effective January 1, 2022, members’ Professional Expenses Reimbursement (PER) Funds will increase from $1,625 to $2,200. In addition, Article 40 of the Collective Agreement specifies that expenses incurred in the past five (5) years qualify for reimbursement.
Minimum APUO Complement
The APUO successfully negotiated increases to the minimum complement, from 1311 to 1335 by May 1, 2023.
Mandate of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
The mandate of the joint Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) was expanded to ensure librarians were included in its work. The APUO President and the University President may jointly mandate the EDIC to address specific equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) issues. Furthermore, the committee may provide recommendations on EDI issues affecting the working conditions of members of the employment equity groups recognized under Human Rights Legislation
Letter of Understanding on Childcare
Recognizing that access to childcare is an equity issue and an essential service that facilitates work-life balance, the APUO and the Central Administration agreed to mandate the joint Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) with examining barriers relating to limited access to childcare at the University of Ottawa, and with preparing a list of recommendations to remove and limit these.
Teaching Dossiers and Student Evaluation Data
The APUO and the Central Administration agreed to two Letters of Understanding (LOU) about the evaluation of members’ teaching performance. The first LOU mandates creating a joint working group tasked with examining the possibility of implementing Teaching Dossiers to better evaluate members’ teaching performance. In the interim, the APUO and the Central Administration agreed to a second LOU making optional the use of A-Reports in members’ promotion and tenure applications from January 1 to April 30 2022.[1] From May 1, 2022, until the end of the Collective Agreement, A-Reports may be used by the Central Administration as per Article 24 of the Collective Agreement.
Promotion and Tenure Process for Members Engaged in Indigenous-led and Indigenous Centered Teaching, Research and Scholarly Activity
The APUO and the Central Administration agreed to a Letter of Understanding that implements a pilot project allowing members who conduct community-based research requiring engagement with First Nations, Métis, or Inuit communities to request that one additional individual at the University of Ottawa who conducts similar research be temporarily mandated, with voting rights, to sit on Faculty Teaching Personnel Committees (FTPC) and Librarian Personnel Committee (LPC) for the consideration of the member’s promotion and tenure application.
A Letter of Understanding, creating a joint committee to identify potential challenges that may arise for members engaged in Indigenous-led and Indigenous centered teaching, research, and scholarly activity who are seeking promotion and tenure, and to evaluate the above-mentioned pilot project also was signed. This joint consultative committee may also propose potential changes to the Collective Agreement, that will be considered by the APUO and the Central Administration for the next round of collective bargaining.
Technical and technological support services
Article 5, Section 5.1 of the Collective Agreement which sets out the working environment of APUO members was revised to include language ensuring the Central Administration provides technical, technological support services, and training support to APUO members.
LOU on Normal Teaching Load of Regular Members
Recognizing the complexities and nuances of establishing an equitable normal teaching load for regular members, the APUO and the Central Administration agreed to create a joint working group tasked with: (i) surveying how normal teaching loads are established at U15 institutions; and (ii) identifying and recommending favourable changes to the process of assigning normal teaching loads across faculties.
Librarians
Several important equity gains were made for librarians:
- the Librarian Personnel Committee (LPC) will undergo equity training similar to that delivered to Teaching Personnel Committees;
- equity work undertaken by librarians will be recognized as academic work and as part of their assigned workload.
Like other APUO members, librarians will have their vacation days automatically allocated at start of the calendar year rather than accumulating vacation days each year.
Continuing Special Appointment Professors
Continuing Special Appointment Professors (CSAP) whose teaching “meets expectations” as per Article 24 of the Collective Agreement will be awarded a continuing appointment, meaning they will not be required to apply for any further contract renewal. Once this is granted, CSAP members may also apply for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor in accordance with relevant articles of the Collective Agreement.
APUO members can view the tentative settlement in full here.
[1] This is a continuation of the COVID-19 Letter of Understanding Student Evaluations for the 2021 Calendar Year.