Update on Layoffs Situation

Hello Colleagues,

Here is a brief update on where we are with the layoffs situation.

First, I want to thank everyone who has expressed such support for each other, and all of the people who have volunteered to help, and all of the people who have stepped forward with Targeted Labour Adjustment explorations. One thousand thanks to all of you!

Here’s a brief update summary:

Mediation with a Labour Board Appointed Arbitrator:

As I mentioned in a previous update, because the parties have not been able to agree on a settlement to the situation, the Union can apply to the Labour Board for mediation assistance under Section 54 of the BC Labour Code. We have done that, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quickness of the response. We anticipate the mediation will be on April 28 and/or May 1, unless something changes in the meantime.

What is this process, and what should we expect?

The parties (the KPU administration representatives and the KFA representatives) will work with a Labour Board-appointed arbitrator who will act as a mediator to attempt settlement of our differences around the layoffs. When I submitted the application for mediation, I provided a general summary and included information, including the Employer’s own communications, regarding:

• The lack of concrete information provided by the Employer regarding the rationale for the layoffs, which to us doesn’t seem to comply with the language under Article 7 that lists reasons for layoff (the Employer’s own documents re budget and enrollment projects and rationale provided for layoffs)
• The Employer’s actions in blocking the Union’s attempts to secure registration, fill rate and international student enrollment rates by ordering department chairs not to communicate information to the Union (the Union’s query to chairs and the Employer’s communications to chairs and to the Union provided verbatim)
• The Union’s response to the Employer’s rationale and proposals for alternatives to layoffs (document provided)
• The Employer’s responses in rejection (document provided)

The mediator will be in charge of determining process for a mediation, but from my experience, it will likely be composed of a review of the situation with an attempt to secure agreement on whatever we can find to agree upon, followed by separate discussions on what it would take to reach some kind of settlement and what that settlement would look like, followed by attempts by the mediator to bring the parties closer together.

However, a key point to recall here is that the Board appointee cannot enforce or rule on an agreement; it is wholly voluntary. We may be able to get some movement with a third-party mediator present, and I hope we will be able to achieve something, though we should not over-estimate the effect of mediation. It’s one more tool in the box.

Formal Grievances Filed

Another tool in the box is filing formal grievances. This past Friday was the deadline for filing, and 70 formal grievances were filed: one Policy grievance (a general grievance filed on behalf of the whole Union) as well as 69 individual grievances for the individuals directly impacted. The Policy grievance includes the general position that the Employer has not provided sufficient information to rationalize the layoffs, and the impacts to those issued layoff notices, as well as impacts to job loss for non-regular faculty, as well as impacts to workload, etc for faculty not laid off, and so on. The individual grievances deal with violations and impacts on individuals, including 7 individuals who are impacted around the paternity and parental leave provisions of the Collective Agreement as well as legislation, as well as the lack of information that would rationalize any layoff.

Before filing the formal grievances, I did try informal resolution as a trial, for members of one department. We were able to gather all of the relevant information (laboriously, as the Employer will not provide specific information in any accessible form!), and we were able to verify that there appeared to be no rational reason to issue layoff notices in the department. There has been no decline in sections over the previous three years, there has been no decline in enrollments, and the fill rate has been above the institutional average. The response of the Employer was a rejection, and thus we have proceeded to file the formal grievances.

Governance and Policy Concerns:

On another note, a number of people have been enquiring regarding how to express concerns regarding governance and policy irregularities, in the wake of the Board meeting many faculty attended. There are few ways you can express concerns should you wish to do so.

First, a great place to start is always the direct approach, expressing concerns and asking for specific actions from those who are directly empowered to do so. If this is something you want to do, you can contact the Board Chair and/or the whole Board directly. You should be aware that this communication will go through a general enquiries email address, which is: E-mail: boardofgovernors@kpu.ca

You can also address your concerns and requests directly to the Minister of Av Ed. Here is a list of contacts in the Ministry: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/organizational-structure/ministries-organizations/ministries/post-secondary-education-and-future-skills/ministry-contacts

There also is a mechanism to express concerns through the Office of the BC Ombudsperson. All public bodies are responsible to follow their own and gov policies, as well as to maintain standards for the conduct of business. Here is how and where to file a general complaint regarding a public body: https://bcombudsperson.ca/complaints/how-to-make-a-complaint/

For public body employees, there is also the opportunity to file a “whistleblower” complaint. You can find out how and where, here: https://bcombudsperson.ca/public-interest-disclosure/how-to-report-a-wrong-doing/

To be clear, I want to emphasize that I am not suggesting you should do any of this; I am answering queries on where to express concerns, and I am saying that if you are thinking you may wish to do this, here above are the places to start. I am of the optimistic view that we all support the general notion that clearly expressing one’s views and speaking one’s truth to power helps everyone by upholding and encouraging the rightful exercise of power on the part of those who hold positions of authority. I hope this information helps.

Upcoming Rally and CAUT Campaign

Finally, as Mark Diotte mentioned previously, here are another two ways to get involved.

One way is to attend the upcoming rally.  This is happening April 25th at noon at the Vancouver Art gallery (Georgia Street side). This rally was organized by the faculty at VCC, but it is general in nature around the cuts to student visas and post-graduate work permits, as well as the overarching funding deterioration across the sector. If you can, please try to attend, and please let your students know about it, too.

Hope to see you there!

The second way is to participate in  CAUT’s ”Unlock Education” campaign. You can get more information and sign up for the campaign at https://education2025.ca/

In solidarity,

Diane.