On Oct. 24, 90 per cent of the University of Western Ontario Faculty Association (UWOFA) voted in favour of strike action if bargaining with the university comes to an impasse.
Voting “yes” does not necessarily mean there will be a strike, but a strike becomes legal within 17 days of filing a no-board report with the Ontario Ministry of Labour. A vote to strike gives the association more leverage at the table during conciliation.
In the case of the strike, members of UWOFA would cease working until an agreement is reached.
UWOFA and Western’s administration have been talking since May. The faculty’s contract expired June 30.
On Oct. 31, a provincially-appointed conciliator joined the talks, and a new conciliation date of Nov. 5 was set. On this date, UWOFA will either resolve the conflict, strike, or renew the conciliation date.
An update published Oct. 29 on the UWOFA website said, “UWOFA remains hopeful a fair and equitable settlement can be reached through the conciliation process.”
UWOFA said on their website they want better learning conditions, smaller class sizes, and improved compensation, especially for contract staff. Contract academic staff make up 37 per cent of Western’s faculty association’s members.
In an article by Western’s student newspaper, The Gazette, Alison Hearn, the president of the UWOFA, said, “Close to 40 per cent [contract faculty] are working with very little job security and with very little compensation. So that’s a number one priority this time — to try to defend their rights, to have a little more job security and to be reasonably compensated.”
According to Western University’s statistics, the number of faculty in probationary positions dropped by 38 per cent between 2009 and 2013. During the same period, the number of people with a limited-term contract grew by 24 per cent.
An update published Oct. 17 on the UWOFA website said the administration was intent on “dividing” the faculty against each other.
“The most obvious example of this stratification is the growing number of precariously employed contract faculty, who suffer low wages and pitiful job security,” the update said.
