Three former faculty members at the University of Prince Edward Island will get their jobs back after the province's human rights commission ordered the university to axe a policy requiring faculty to retire at age 65.

 

Earlier this year, the commission ruled the policy was discriminatory and has recently issued a $1 million order to the university regarding damages, remedies and costs.

 

The commission ruled that in addition to rehiring the three former staff, the school must also compensate them for lost wages.

 

Psychology professor Thomy Nilisson, one of  those forced to retire, said at 65 he was still learning and wanting to pass on more knowledge to his students.

 

He said he was hurt when the former president of the university instigated mandatory retirement.

 

“It was incomprehensible that an institute for which I held high respect could act in a manner so contrary to human values and the future of our society,” Nilsson said.

 

The commission has also ordered the university to pay the faculty association over $50,000 for legal expenses.

 

Gary Bradshaw, UPEI's vice-president (finance and facilities), said in a release to faculty and staff the university intends to comply with the order.

 

However, the school will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of PEI, according to university spokesperson Anne McCallum.

 

The retirement policy had been "an integral part" of UPEI's terms of employment since 1995, the release said.

 

Mandatory retirement in Canada has since become less common due to a combination of both provincial legislation and university amendments to individual retirement requirements, according to David Robinson of

the Canadian Association of University Teachers, who said he agreed with the commission's ruling. 

 

McCallum said the policy "has benefited the overall university community by facilitating workforce renewal and providing an effective tool for financial and human resources planning.”

 

Restrictions on hiring and on discretionary expenditures are also anticipated, Bradshaw wrote. He wrote that a "more robust system of performance review" needs to be put in place in light of the order.

 

Wayne Peters, former president of the UPEI Faculty Association, said continuing to take legal action has serious financial consequences for the university.

 

“The university has been in the public and is crying poor, yet they continue to spend university money on legal issues with the appeal. This could go on for several years,” Peters said.

 

David Robinson, associative executive director with the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said until recently mandatory retirement was common at Canadian universities.  He recalled  a similar legal situation at the University of Guelph in the 1980s.

 

He said that in the Guelph case the Supreme Court of Canada ruled "if the retirement policy was negotiated it would be okay to enforce. There was no legal argument about the age but employers could lift the negotiation."

"In this case, UPEI needs to move on and accept the court’s decision,” Robinson said.