OPSEU IN THE NEWS
Working conditions of part time profs said to lessen quality
Part-time college teachers do not have
right to union membership: report
Macleans
http://www.macleans.ca/education/universities/article.jsp?content=20070508_163513_9372
Erin Millar, Macleans.ca | May
8, 2007 | 4:35 pm EST
Poor working conditions and low
pay for part-time professors is
affecting education quality at
Ontario colleges, according to a
document released by the
Organization of Part-time and
Sessional Employees of the
Colleges of Applied Arts and
Technology. Entitled,
“Compromising Quality,” the
report argues that “Ontario
community college students are
being ripped off” because of a
growing number of part-time
professors, also known as
sessionals, who are not given
the resources to do their jobs
effectively.
“Students are paying the price,”
OPSECAAT president Roger
Couvrette wrote. “…the way
[part-time professors’] colleges
treat them has a profound effect
on the quality of education
their students receive.”
OPSECAAT says that because of
poor pay, many part-time college
professors are forced to take
other jobs, which takes away
from their ability to be
available to students. Similar
concerns have been raised at
universities, as Maclean’s
reported in March.
Although consistent statistics
are not readily available in
Canada, it has been estimated
that over one-half of college
faculty in Ontario are
part-timers. In the U.S., where
more accurate statistics are
published, 47.5 per cent of
faculty were part-time in 2005,
up from 46.3 per cent in 2003.
Evidence seems to suggest that
the trend is mirrored in Canada.
The latest StatsCan data (from
1997-98) shows 10 per cent
growth since 1990 while full
time positions decreased.
These professors are paid a
fraction of their fulltime
counterparts, on a
class-by-class basis. Part-time
university professors receive
between $6,000 and $13,000 per
course depending on the
institution and college
sessionals make even less. They
generally do not have benefits,
pensions, or job security.
The report released last week
points to a 30-year old Ontario
law that bars sessionals from
union membership. The Colleges
Collective Bargaining Act
excludes certain employees from
being able to unionize,
including part-time faculty,
librarians, counselors, and
support staff.
OPSECAAT says that this law
violates the UN Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,
which states, “Everyone has the
right to form and join trade
unions for the protection of his
interests.” However, although
Canada signed the declaration,
it is not law. The Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
does not specifically mention
the right to form unions. Courts
have not interpreted the right
to “freedom of association” to
guarantee the right to bargain
collectively.
In November 2006, the
International Labour
Organization, a UN body,
recommended that Ontario change
the law.
OPSECAAT also points to a
study forthcoming in the Journal
of Higher Education that found
that institutions with more
full-time faculty enjoy higher
graduation and completion rates.
The research was conducted by
Dan Jacoby, a labour studies
professor at the University of
Washington, who said, “By having
a lot of part-timers, the
college becomes less effective.”
Faculty pay isn’t the only thing
that may be affecting quality of
education. Part-timers also miss
out on benefits their full-time
colleagues enjoy, such as office
space. In the March Maclean's
article on part time university
professors, sessional professor
George Williamson
described the construction
trailer that he used as an
office for three years. English
professor Brent Wood organized
time to meet with students at a
local café instead of his
cramped, shared office.
Often the lack of resources,
like phones or computers, means
that the professors cannot do
the job that they wish they
could. Mark Dion, who teaches
science and health at an Ontario
College, said, “We’re propping
up a rotten system just because
we can’t bear not to be
professional. I mean, we’re
training future nurses – it’s
kind of important that we go
above and beyond.”
The lack of job security is also
hard on sessional professors.
“I’m going to leave this
industry,” said ESL professor
Susan Cue. “Having to deal with
the insecurity is impossible. I
don’t have kids yet but if I
did, this would be intolerable.”
“Compromising Quality” does not
fault institutions for the poor
treatment of sessionals. It
recognizes that colleges are
often under-resourced and in
increasing part-timers is a way
to save money. The report lays
the blame on under-funding: it
says that Ontario’s college
funding per student is 9th among
Canadian provinces.
