OCASA/APACO

The two OPSEU applications before the Ontario Labour Relations Board to unionize part-time staff will not be resolved soon, Don Sinclair of the Council told OCASA Board at their fall meeting, as these are very large files and take time to process.

On the other hand, implementation of Bill 90 which creates a new statutory, not for profit organization titled the College Employer Council is proceeding as proclaimed for April 1, 2010. Colleges Ontario and Council have been working on the transition to the new organization which has a board composition prescribed by legislation of 24 college board chairs/vice chair and 24 college presidents. Mr. Sinclair is the Executive Director of the Colleges Compensation and Appointments Council.

Mr Sinclair also said that development of revisions to the template Terms and Conditions of Employment for administrative staff is underway with OCASA involved in the discussions. He said the goal is to address concerns of colleges and administrators while producing a more professional document.

About the part time issue, he said there was a low vote turnout of about 18% in the October vote due to very limited polling time practices that are applied by the OLRB. Most campuses only had one date and time slot for voting. In addition, the OLRB has ordered the ballots from both votes (academic and part time) to be sealed until it has been determined if OPSEU has met the membership threshold of 35%. His summary: stay tuned.