Their union calls them "precarious jobs" but now 20,000 part-time support workers at Ontario’s colleges, including Canadore, have voted to ratify their first-ever collective agreement.
“History has been made,” said OPSEU President Smokey Thomas. “OPSEU and this large group of workers fought for years for the legislated right to join a union. We won that fight and now these workers have an excellent first contract to show for it.
“It’s a huge victory. And not just for them. It’s also a victory for their families, their communities, the students they serve, and working people everywhere.”
Canadore College won't disclose how many part-time workers are affected there, spokeswoman Jessica Charette telling BayToday."The colleges are referring to the aggregate numbers, 14,000 part-time workers, and not specifying the breakdown per institution."
According to OPSEU, the contract contains a number of significant improvements, including a three per cent wage increase over two years and shift-premium increases, a formal grievance process, and vastly improved shift-change notice.
OPSEU First Vice-President / Treasurer Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida says the ratification is an inspiration for all Ontarians, particularly those stuck in precarious work.
“OPSEU and these workers have proven that nothing is impossible,” said Almeida. “We had to fight for years to change the law that prevented these workers from joining a union. Then we had to fight against an employer who used every dirty trick in the book to stop them from joining OPSEU.
“But we won those fights because when workers organize, they are a force for fairness that can’t be stopped.”
Now that the college’s part-time support workers have a contract, Thomas says it’s time for the College Employers Council to voluntarily recognize OPSEU as the union for part-time and sessional faculty.
“It’s been more than a year since part-time and sessional faculty voted on joining OPSEU, but the employer continues to stall and block those votes from being counted,” said Thomas. “It’s time for the employer to stop with the dirty tricks and start respecting their employees’ Constitutional rights.”
