Congratulations to the Brescia Faculty Association (BFA) for ratifying a new collective agreement. The BFA made a number of notable gains in the areas of faculty hiring, workload, contract faculty security, and professional expense reimbursements.
New language will place a greater emphasis on internal hiring, making it easier for contract faculty or faculty in limited term appointments (LTAs) to get positions. Full-time faculty performance reports are no longer required to include numbers from student questionnaires on teaching and instead are asked to reflect and comment on the questionnaires. Improvements to workload include better balance for tenure track hires and recognition of service to OCUFA and the Canadian Association of University Teachers. Professional and travel expense reimbursement funds have increased and the waiting period for full-time faculty joining the pension plan has been shortened to three months from one year.
Building on gains for contract faculty from the last round of negotiations, contract faculty will now retain right of first refusal while on protected leave and earn seniority for courses for which they received contract offers prior to leave. In addition, a new multi-year teaching sessional appointment has been established, along with a grid that includes a 7 per cent premium on regular per-course compensation each year. Contract faculty will now receive compensation for service, apply for internal grant competitions, and will have access to Undergrad Tuition Awards for Dependents after three years of service. LTAs will also now have full access to awards, grants, and course releases.