May 23 update on over-enrollments

Colleagues,

This is to update you on the over-enrollment situation, and where we are at with the grievance and other actions.

Last week, a delegation from the KFA attended the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators (FPSE) AGM and annual convention. FPSE is our provincial organization, representing about 10 000 members at 19 locals. We presented, and the convention passed, a special resolution for FPSE to support the KFA against the actions of our Employer. Here is the preamble and resolution:

Because Kwantlen Polytechnic University willfully violated the Collective Agreement with the Kwantlen Faculty Association by knowingly over-enrolling 303 sections with 658 international and domestic students and thereby exceeding registration limits;

And because Kwantlen Polytechnic University breached its responsibility to negotiate any changes to the Collective Agreement prior to imposing these workload increases, with blatant disregard to the effect of these changes on faculty and students;

And because the Supreme Court of Canada decision upholds the 2016 BCTF Collective Agreement provisions that limit workload and class size;

Therefore FPSE will: Write a letter to the President and Board of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and to the President of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, expressing outrage that the Kwantlen Polytechnic University administration has violated the provisions on class size in its Collective Agreement with the Kwantlen Faculty Association;

And, will write letters to the Minister of Advanced Education and the Minister of Labour and to all the MLAs in the Kwantlen Polytechnic University region soliciting acknowledgement that the university has contravened the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on collective bargaining rights.   

On the grievance front, I am sorry to have to report that we received a denial at Step 2. Dr. Ferreras’s response to our grievance was that the Employer maintains they have the right to exceed the registration limits in the Collective Agreement.

We have advanced the grievance in the process, and Dr. Alan Davis will hear it at Step 3. We will include in the Step 3 presentation our registration information that shows 303 of 695 sections offered in Arts and the School of Business this semester were over-enrolled as of the stable enrollment date.

Thank you once again for all your support. We greatly appreciate it.

In solidarity,

Diane Walsh