The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) has made a written submission to the provincial government’s Changing Workplaces Review . It calls for government leadership to address the rise of precarious work at Ontario’s universities. OCUFA estimates that the number of contract faculty has nearly doubled since 2000. “Faculty see how this shift toward insecure, low-paid jobs […]
contract faculty
On Wednesday, June 16th, OCUFA President Kate Lawson presented to a Ministry of Labour panel consulting on possible reforms to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act and Labour Relations Act. The government is consulting on how to bring labour laws in line with the changing world of work that puts an increasing number of workers in precarious […]
Ontario’s professors and academic librarians are hopeful that government consultations will result in needed improvements to employment standards and labour legislation. Faculty representatives will be presenting their views as part of the hearings on reform of the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act being held today in Toronto. “One of the most dramatic […]
The Spring/Summer 2015 issue of Academic Matters is now live online and arriving in faculty mailboxes across Ontario. It takes a look at the challenge of contract faculty work from an international perspective. The increased use of part-time faculty is a growing challenge for higher education systems around the world. In many cases, it’s a grim situation for […]
New research demonstrates that precarious employment has a major impact on individuals and their families. As many contract professors are trapped in precarious positions, these findings are a major concern for professors and academic librarians in Ontario. Beyond the personal harm, precarious employment also puts the quality of the province’s universities at risk. The findings […]
This Op-Ed, by OCUFA President Kate Lawson, originally appeared in the Huffington Post . The ongoing strikes at York University and the University of Toronto have prompted a variety of thoughtful and insightful examinations of the state of university education in Ontario. In particular, the conversation around the changing nature of academic work and the plight of […]
Last week, OCUFA launched the We Teach Ontario campaign to highlight the important contributions made by contract faculty to Ontario’s universities, often in the face of difficult working conditions. The campaign is based around www.WeTeachOntario.ca , and is also running on Facebook and Twitter . After an exciting launch week, we need you help to make the campaign a continued success. […]
Today, OCUFA launched the “ We Teach Ontario ” to highlight the outstanding work of contract faculty, and the challenges created by their precarious working conditions. Using contract faculty profiles and shareable graphics, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of this critical issue facing higher education in Ontario and around the world. Despite teaching more than half […]
Premier Kathleen Wynne stopped at the University of Waterloo on Tuesday, January 13 as part of her nine-day tour of Ontario universities. In addition to fielding questions at a student town-hall and sitting for an interview with the UW student newspaper, Wynne also made time to have a private meeting with four representatives of Waterloo’s […]
Professors and academic librarians and archivists at Western University met with Premier Kathleen Wynne on Monday evening, part of the Premier’s tour of Ontario campuses. Faculty leaders welcomed the meeting as an important opportunity to discuss issues facing those who teach and conduct research within the province’s universities. “We had an in-depth discussion about the […]
On Monday, August 18th, the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) launched a series exploring the uncertainty and instability faced by contract faculty. Titled “Standing in the shadows of the academy,” the project uses stories and video to feature contract faculty who struggle to make ends meet, despite being exceptional teachers and researchers. “This […]
A new American study by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce illuminates the challenging working conditions of precarious contract faculty in American universities. The report, titled The Just-in-Time Professor, finds that the growing trend of contract work in academia is forcing many highly-skilled individuals to struggle with low pay, poor benefits, job instability, […]
On Thursday, November 14, 2013, contract staff at Wilfrid Laurier University voted in favour of a strike. Of those who voted, 90.6 per cent supported the strike mandate. A date for mediation has been set for November 26th. The 376 contract faculty at Laurier are represented by the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA). As reported in […]
Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) recently released the results of a survey of “casual” academic staff who are appointed on a per-course or research contract basis, equivalent to part-time, sessional, or contract academic staff in Canada. Almost two-thirds of respondents aspire to an academic career, preferably a permanent full-time position with teaching and research responsibilities. Teaching-only positions were the least desirable of the full-time options. […]