Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO356, March 2010

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 40. The Committee last examined this case, which concerns the provisions of a statute (Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, RSO 1990, c. 15) that denies all public colleges’ part-time employees the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining, at its March 2009 meeting [353rd Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 304th Session, paras 66–68]. On that occasion, the Committee noted with interest the Government’s announcement that it introduced the Act to enact the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act which would extend collective bargaining rights to part-time academic and support staff workers at Ontario’s 24 colleges. It invited the Government to keep it informed of progress made in the adoption of this bill.
2. 41. In a communication dated 9 October 2009, the Government indicates that the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act came into effect on 8 October 2008 (except for certain transitional provisions) and submits a copy thereof. The new legislation gives part-time and sessional faculty and part-time support staff at Ontario’s colleges the right to bargain collectively. In addition, the Act establishes two new province-wide bargaining units for colleges (one for part-time and sessional faculty staff and one for part-time support staff) and a certification process to allow part-time employees to unionize and bargain collectively modelled on the process in place for other workers in Ontario who are covered by the Labour Relations Act (LRA), 1995, and includes other reforms to modernize the collective bargaining process for the college sector to give the parties more ownership and control over the process as exists in other sectors covered by the LRA.
3. 42. The Committee notes this information with satisfaction.