Ontario faculty are concerned that the Ford government intends to interfere in collective bargaining relationships throughout the public sector, including at universities across the province. In a written submission to the Treasury Board Secretariat regarding its consultations on public sector compensation, OCUFA detailed its concerns about the consultation process and the government’s motives.
Ontario’s faculty and academic librarians firmly believe in the right to free and fair collective bargaining. It is through this process that equity is fostered, ensuring that good jobs and equal pay are provided to traditionally under-compensated groups, including women-identified, racialized, and contract faculty.
Blaming faculty and other public sector workers for Ontario’s fiscal challenges is fact-free scapegoating. Legislated centralized bargaining would not only be counterproductive, it would destabilize labour relations and undermine flexibility, collaboration, and creativity in collective bargaining in the postsecondary education sector.
Like many, OCUFA suspects that legislation has already been written behind closed doors and that the government’s “consultations” were no more than a charade. This ill-advised legislation is likely to undermine the integrity of the important public services Ontarians depend upon.
In advance of this expected legislation, OCUFA joined with the Ontario Federation of Labour and unions representing workers in both the public and private sector to make a principled statement against the government’s attacks on workers, public services, and free and fair collective bargaining.
Read OCUFA’s full submission.
Read the Ontario Federation of Labour’s solidarity statement.
Where is the legal challenge to this attack on collective bargaining?
Hi Yvonne. We will have to wait to see the actual legislation before determining what sort of legal challenge might be possible.