As a separate process from bargaining, members of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association ( WLUFA ) and the Executive have ratified a tentative agreement that provides consent under the Pension Benefits Act to convert the Wilfrid Laurier Pension Plan to the University Pension Plan (UPP). WLUFA’s primary interest in entering negotiations over conversion to […]
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 […]
TORONTO, May 27, 2021 – The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the OCUFA Service Award: Herb Kunze of the University of Guelph Faculty Association (UGFA), Robert Hickey and Paul Young of the Queen’s University Faculty Association (QUFA), and Cynthia Messenger of the University of Toronto […]
The Nipissing University Faculty Association (NUFA) needs your support to avert a strike. NUFA has been bargaining in good faith with their administration, presenting a modest and responsible package that fights for pension improvements and protects research supports. Unfortunately, the Nipissing administration is proposing claw backs that will not only jeopardize faculty research and teaching, […]
TORONTO – The senior leadership of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) today announced that it was resigning, including President Harvey Weingarten. HEQCO has been the chief advisor to the Ford government on a number of controversial initiatives, including an attack on Ontario faculty over the age of 65. Since its inception HEQCO’s […]
On April 11, the 2019 Ontario Budget was tabled. Given the track record of the Ontario government to date, this budget delivered what OCUFA expected: a continued attack on workers’ rights, university autonomy, and public services, including postsecondary education. The overall postsecondary education and training sector budget is projected to be cut by $700 million, […]
TORONTO – Ontario’s faculty are alarmed by the Doug Ford government’s budget proposal to allocate 60 per cent of university funding based on institutional performance. By design, performance-based funding threatens education quality as it rewards institutions that meet specific performance targets while penalizing those that do not. Faculty are also concerned by signals that the […]
The Queen’s University Faculty Association has ratified a three-year agreement with the Queen’s University administration. Members of QUFA also voted yes in the consent vote for the conversion of the pension plan to the University Pension Plan. If the UPP is created, the expiry of the Collective Agreement will move from April 30 to June […]
The York University Faculty Association (YUFA) has reached a three-year agreement with the York University administration. As part of the settlement, YUFA achieved a commitment from the university to hire six Indigenous faculty over the life of the agreement, and to work with the faculty association to undertake an equal pay exercise for women, racialized […]
On Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, OCUFA held its first Board of Directors Meeting of the 2018-19 academic year. The weekend oriented new board members to OCUFA and allowed members to discuss the results of the 2018 provincial election and what it could mean for Ontario’s universities. With that context, members reviewed OCUFA’s […]
On Thursday, November 15, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Government released its fall economic statement. The 155-page document offers an update on the status of Ontario’s finances and contains numerous government announcements across many different sectors. Also known as the mini-budget, the fall economic statement outlines some of the government’s plans for the public sector and […]
In 2006, the Ontario Human Rights Code was amended to prohibit mandatory retirement. However, this change was accompanied by new provisions that permitted employers to reduce or stop providing certain group benefits for workers when they turn 65. In 2012, Wayne Talos, a high school teacher at the Grand Erie District School Board, commenced a […]
On Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13, OCUFA held its final Board of Directors meeting of the 2017-18 academic year. During the weekend, board members discussed the organization’s current priorities – good jobs and vibrant universities, university funding, and capacity building – with a focus on the postsecondary issues that were likely to receive […]
LONDON – According to a recent poll commissioned by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), 68 per cent of those who live in Southwestern Ontario want professors with job security and benefits teaching university courses. Among Ontario youth considering a postsecondary education, support was even higher, with 71 per cent stating this as […]
Dear Alastair Summerlee, On behalf of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and the 17,000 full-time and contract university professors and academic librarians we represent at 28 member associations across the province of Ontario, I am writing to urge you to return to the bargaining table with the Canadian Union of Public Employees […]
