TORONTO: The organization representing 17,000 part-time Ontario college
employees has released a document showing a clear connection between the
poor working conditions of its members and the decline of education
quality in Ontario's colleges.
The Organization of Part-time and Sessional Employees of
the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (OPSECAAT) released a
44-page document today, entitled “Compromising Quality.” The document
outlines, in the words and real-life on-the-job experiences of part-time
academic and support staff, how the quality of education is linked to
working conditions.
The government has not changed the law to allow
part-time college workers in Ontario to organize and bargain
collectively, despite an International Labour Organization ruling last
fall.
“Because of an unjust law, the 24 colleges have ramped
up on part-time workers, who now outnumber full-time employees at the
colleges,” said Roger Couvrette, president of OPSECAAT. “Ontario
underfunds college education on my back, and on the backs of part-time
workers who are singled out as a source of disposable cheap labour.”
"Not only does the denial of bargaining rights hurt
part-time college workers, but this document, Compromising Quality,
shows that it also hurts the quality of education students receive in
Ontario's community colleges," Couvrette said.
OPSECAAT was joined at the news conference by Warren
(Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees
Union, and Jesse Greener, Ontario chairperson of the Canadian Federation
of Students. Rosario Marchese, MPP, who has proposed legislation to
support collective bargaining for college part-timers, also attended.
The document is available in both
English and French.
