Happy New Year! We hope you have enjoyed a restful holiday so far. We encourage you to take advantage of the remaining few days before classes start to disconnect as much possible from the screens that have taken a lot of our attention lately.
This first bulletin of 2021 contains the latest news from last semester. We wish you all a great semester.
Thanks for voting!
We would like to thank everyone who voted in the VCTA elections. It was our first experience of electronic elections, and thanks to the excellent work of our election officers Martin Siberok and Bruce Norton, it went smoothly. They handled the very few hiccups that happened with care and celerity.
The mandate that was decided in November is for the winter semester only. We will be soliciting your vote again in April for the coming year, 2021-2022.
Signed Local Entente for DEC Courses in Cont Ed
We are glad to report that we have signed an agreement with the College to end the practice of block hiring for DEC courses in Continuing Education. The agreement has already been distributed to all coordinators, and it applies to the winter, 2021 hiring cycle. It has been a long process, as these things generally are, that was further delayed by the pandemic. But the agreement we have signed satisfies our concerns, and it establishes far better working conditions for precarious teachers at Vanier. We would like to thank all the teachers who showed up to meetings and shared concrete examples of how block hiring was affecting them. Your experiences made a difference in our negotiations with the College.
Reduced class sizes for winter, 2021
In a meeting with the VCTA Executive on December 22, the senior Vanier administration announced that some of the resources that have been given to the College for teaching in the context of Covid-19 will be used to reduce class sizes for the winter, 2021 semester. Some of these resources will also be used to benefit teachers in Continuing Education. Details of the distribution will be provided at the next meeting of CRT (Labour Relations Committee). The VCTA Executive would like to thank all of the departments who passed motions in support of this proposal.
Employment Insurance Benefits
If you do not have confirmed work at the end of your current teaching contract – e.g. in the winter semester – you can apply for employment insurance benefits. Regular benefits rules apply to college teachers. Even if you are not sure if you are eligible, Employment and Social Development Canada encourages people to “apply for benefits so [their] processing agents can determine if you are eligible.” You should apply as soon as your contract ends. Note that there are some changes to the program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details are available at the government website:https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-regular-benefit.html
Negotiations update
The latest issue of Info-Nego is now available in French (Info-Nego No. 9) and in English (Info-Nego#9(ENG)). Two striking (sic) thrusts: striking during the pandemic and coming out of explorations in negotiations for continuing education teachers. For the latter, attached to this News Bulletin, you will find the union deposit 5 (DS-5) that was given to the Comité patronal de négociation des collèges (CPNC).
The context for DS-5 goes back a few weeks, during which our negotiating team had undertaken exploratory negotiations with the employer to deal with our demands related to continuing education. To transition to formal negotiations, the negotiation and mobilization committee has recently considered it appropriate to make a formal filing that accounts for the exchanges at the table, and which presents the precise articulation and modulation of our first demands on continuing education. Here are a few points to summarize the content elements of our demands, as articulated in DS-5:
- As soon as a teacher reaches 135 hours of continuing education teaching in a year (or combining his or her work in the day division with that of continuing education), he or she is paid in CI and is considered a part-time or full-time teacher for the purposes of the collective agreement.
- If he or she reaches 135 hours during the semester or at the next semester, he or she is paid retroactively.
- The CI determination for continuing education courses is adapted. The high preparation (HP) parameter that applies starting with the fourth preparation is returned to 1.3, the value it had prior to 2011.
- Teachers in continuing education who do not belong to a department or who do not have a place of exchange as provided for under clause 8-7.10 have a maximum CI of 88 since they do not have to participate in departmental meetings. They also have tasks to perform in addition to those directly related to the delivery of their courses.
- Those who do not reach 135 hours of teaching in the year or who already teach full-time are paid at the hourly rate, which is then increased by $14.05 per hour to account for encadrement.
Letter of Understanding for Covid-19 Measures
You will find attached the lettre d’entente 2015-2020 No. 13 — regarding the amendment of certain provisions of the 2015-2020 collective agreement and a list of measures put in place in some colleges due to the health crisis. We have discussed this letter at our last General Assembly. It mostly concerns unpaid leaves of absence and support for distance learning. The letter was signed by the representatives of the FNEEQ and the CPNC.
Report from Conseil Fédéral
The FNEEQ Conseil Fédéral met December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The Vanier delegation was composed of Jacques Mainville, Hugo Casanova, Sandi Mak, and Alyson Jones. Eric Durling attended as a representative of the Bureau Fédéral of FNEEQ. Among the subjects discussed was academic freedom. The Bureau Fédéral of FNEEQ adopted a declaration that we have attached, and the delegates discussed this as well as the process that will see FNEEQ help its member unions promote dialogue with students and discussions with our local administrations. In the current negotiations, we are attempting to have academic freedom mentioned explicitly in our collective agreement.
Infolettre FNEEQ
You will find at the link below the latest news letter from FNEEQ (en français) containing recent press releases. Unfortunately, in includes not so good news for the 412 Micromedia program. As you know, the government wanted to close the program for no apparent reason. Even after multiple communications and arguments from teachers, and many administrators, it looks like the ministère is still considering closure. We will need to continue the fight.https://mailchi.mp/5796c4be82e1/infolettre-de-la-fneeq?e=4c9e8b081e
Insurance Info for Retirement
The collective insurance contract offered to retired members of FNEEQ-CSN (AREF) has been renewed on January 1st, 2021. You will find attached a PDF summarizing the benefits which are covered by this new contract. You are encouraged to consult this document if you are retired and subscribe to this insurance, or if you plan on retiring this year.
Tax Deductions for Working from Home
If you recall, the College has confirmed at a previous CRT that they are willing to issue T2200 forms for teachers who ask for them. This form allows you to claim certain expenses related to working from home on your tax return. In recent news however, we have learned that the Canadian government is easing access to these tax deductions. They have created a new simplified process to claim the deductions. More information is available at the article linked here. We imagine that the government will make other announcements soon. We will, of course, keep you informed in the new year as we receive details.https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cra-tax-deduction-covid-1.5842048
Reminder: Be Careful On Social Media
People continue to use electronic communication tools during distancing measures. Social media are a convenient way of communicating and sharing experiences and advice. These tools can be useful for teachers to exchange feedback and tips, and generally, to keep in touch with colleagues. Many pages and groups have formed on social media and they are used by many of us.
We would like to, once again, remind everyone that social media posts – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and most others – are public, and can be recorded and shared by third parties without the consent of the original creator. Your posts can be accessible to people outside your immediate circle. Be mindful of what you post and how you interact with others on social media. This is especially true of spaces that are associated with Vanier College or its faculty and staff. These spaces can be considered extensions of the College, and College Policies can apply to interactions that happen online in these spaces.
Electronic PD Forms
We now have electronic forms for Professional Development applications and expense reports. The forms can be filled using Adobe Reader or Acrobat (they probably work with other PDF software too), and they are approved electronically by the VCTA and the College. The PD Policy’s normal requirements remain. Applications must be submitted at least two weeks before the start of the activity. You must include, with your application, documentation for the activity you wish to be funded. And for expense reports, you can email scans of receipts or electronic invoices with the form. We recommend that you keep all original receipts because the College can ask for them at any time. The forms can be downloaded from the VCTA website:http://www.thevcta.qc.ca/
Happiness Economy
And to conclude, here is an interesting article from Equiterre. “For months we’ve been talking about an economic recovery… but do we really want to go back to the economic system that prevailed before the pandemic? Or should we rather make the most of what the pandemic has taught us and refocus our economy around the principles of happiness and collective well-being?”https://www.equiterre.org/en/news/towards-a-happiness-economy-one-action-at-a-time