Please Click Here to find recent news, events and information from CUPE Ontario.
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. Trent University students and faculty today added their voices to the call for school administration to negotiate a fair collective agreement with Contract Instructors at a noon-hour rally.
The rally was organized by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3908, Unit 1 to highlight their efforts to secure a fair agreement. There are approximately 270 Contract Course Instructors and Clinical Instructors working at Trent.
We’ve come together today because we care about this University and this Community Trent’s administration needs to recognize that commitment and effort and offer a fair contract, said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. Hahn was joined at the rally by Stephen Horner, President of CUPE 3908, Sheldon Willerton, President of the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) and Bryan Palmer, a Trent Professor and other members of the Trent University Faculty Association (TUFA) Executive.
Contract Faculty perform a wide range of tasks on campus, including teaching classes and marking papers, leading seminars and workshops, and providing English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction.
On an hourly basis, Contract Faculty earn less than half the wage of the average full-time faculty member at Trent. They are also the only employee group at Trent that is excluded from the University’s Pension and Health Benefits plans.
Horner said the wage gap between Contract and Full-time faculty has grown over the last decade.
CUPE 3908 members provide more than 20 per cent of the teaching that takes place on campus, and yet account for only eight per cent of the University’s instructional budget. Trent needs to value and respect the contribution these members make daily to our campus community and offer them a fair deal, he added.
The union and administration will meet Jan. 26 with a conciliator. Hahn urged those attending the rally to show their support by letting the administration know they support a fair agreement for Contract Instructors.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Fred Hahn, President, CUPE Ontario, 416-540-3979
Kevin Wilson, CUPE Communications, 416-821-6641
