'Good managers support our campaign.' - Roger Couvrette
Toronto (11 Dec. 2007) - The organizing of part-time staff is the "best possible thing" that could happen to Ontario's 24 community colleges, says Roger Couvrette, chair of the Organization of Part-Time and Sessional Employees of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (OPSECAAT).
The fight to organize the approximately 17,000 part-timers has been led by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE), which has provided full support and backing for the OPSECAAT campaign.
The Ontario government promised this fall to bring in legislation following a review of the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA) by Kevin Whitaker, chair of the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Whitaker is to make recommendations by the end of February.
“Improving the working lives of college workers is not just about the workers,” says Couvrette. “It’s also about the students and college managers who care about quality education.”
Low wages, a lack of benefits and insecure jobs mean that many college part-timers and sessionals don’t stick around for long, Couvrette notes.
“Last week at Algonquin College in Ottawa, where I used to teach, a college administrator told me that he had just had seven professors resign. He now has 23 courses that don’t have a teacher. His message to me was, ‘Hurry up and get a union in here so we can start tackling some of these problems.’”
The vast majority of college administrators realize that the current situation is not good for quality education and not sustainable in the long run, says Couvrette.
“When we published Compromising Quality, our report on college education in Ontario, it was obvious that poor jobs in every part of every college – faculty and support – were having a negative impact on students’ education.
“I know there are a few college administrators out there who are trying to persuade workers not to sign a card, but it’s not a high number,” he said. “Good managers support our campaign.” NUPGE
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