Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - REPORT_NO374, March 2015

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

1. 25. The Committee last examined this case at its November 2011 meeting [362nd Report, approved by the Governing body at its 312th Session, paras 39–44]. Noting that the issues raised in this case were pending before the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), the Committee expected that the ongoing dispute would be resolved by that body without delay, in consultations with the parties, in order to effectively guarantee that part-time academic and support staff employed in Ontario’s public colleges fully enjoy the right to organize. The Committee also requested the Government to keep it informed of any further developments in relation to this matter.
2. 26. In a communication dated 4 September 2013 transmitted by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario indicates that, on 12 August 2013, the OLRB dismissed two certification applications that the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) had filed in respect of part-time college employees. In both cases, the OLRB determined that the union had not met the 35 per cent threshold for either bargaining unit (which is the threshold for obtaining a representation vote under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act (CCBA), 2008). The Government recalls that, under section 31 of the Act, if the College Employer Council (CEC) gives notice objecting to the union’s estimate of the number of employees in a bargaining unit for which the union seeks certification as a bargaining agent, the OLRB must make a determination of the number; if the number of persons who appear to be members of the union is less than 35 per cent of the number in the bargaining unit, the Board must dismiss the union’s application.
3. 27. The Committee recalls that it had examined this case, which initially concerned provisions of the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, RSO 1990, c. 15, that denied all public colleges’ part-time employees the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining, for the first time in November 2006. At its March 2010 meeting, it noted with satisfaction the Government’s indication that the CCBA came into effect on 8 October 2008 and that the new legislation gave part-time and sessional faculty and part time support staff at Ontario’s colleges the right to bargain collectively; established 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 included other reforms to modernize the collective bargaining process for the college sector to give the parties more ownership and control over the process as it exists in other sectors covered by the LRA.
4. 28. The Committee further recalls that, in April 2010, the complainant – the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) – requested the Committee to reopen its examination of this case and alleged that, despite the amendments made to the CCBA, part-time workers employed by Ontario’s public colleges were still being denied their fundamental right to join unions and bargain collectively. The complainant argued that the amendments to the CCBA were rendered meaningless by other sections of the Act, which allowed employers to prevent unions from representing part-time employees at the province’s 24 community colleges. Specifically, under the amended Act, 35 per cent of affected workers must sign union cards in order for the OLRB to order a vote. Pursuant to section 31, colleges are allowed to challenge the number of cards the union has signed if they suspect that the union has not signed enough cards, a privilege that employers have taken advantage of. To justify these challenges, employers must produce their own lists of the numbers of employees affected by the certification vote. The complainant alleged that employers “flooded” these lists with employees who clearly would not be part of the union bargaining unit, resulting in mediation and litigation at the OLRB that can take months or even years. Furthermore, the complainant noted that union card signing could take months, as Ontario’s 24 colleges are spread across the province. Because of this dispersal, the colleges could manipulate the timing of the workers’ contracts to limit the number of signed union cards. The complainant acknowledged that, the amended CCBA did allow part-time college workers to unionize, but argued that to date, it was completely failing in practice.
5. 29. The Committee recalls that, at its November 2011 meeting, it noted the Government’s indication that in May and July 2011, the OLRB had issued several interim decisions regarding determination of the status of certain categories of individuals in respect of the membership in the bargaining units and that consultations at the OLRB were expected to continue. The Committee had further noted the complainants’ indication that the process was hopelessly mired down in legal arguments with no prospect of an end in sight and observed that the ballots cast by the workers remained uncounted. The Committee notes that, in its decisions dated 12 August 2013 (transmitted by the Government), the OLRB, having determined that the OPSEU had not met the 35 per cent threshold requirement, dismissed the union’s applications.
6. 30. The Committee expresses its concern at what appears to be a very lengthy process of certification of a collective bargaining agent for the part-time staff employed at community colleges in Ontario. In light of the above and in the absence of any new information on the developments following the 2013 OLRB decisions, the Committee requests the Government to review, in consultations with the social partners, the provisions of the CCBA so as to ensure that the procedures in place are not prone to excessive delays and manipulation that might effectively impede the right of part-time employees to bargain collectively. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which part-time academic and support staff employed in Ontario’s public colleges can currently exercise their collective bargain rights.