The Vanier College Teachers’ Association
Thank You!
We would like to thank everyone who voted in the ratification election. Your participation in the democratic process is most important and highly appreciated. And thank you for your vote of confidence! We will continue to work for you!
Meeting or Communicating with the Administration?
If you are ever invited to meet with the Administration (e.g. Faculty Deans, Human Resources, etc.), please note that you can always invite a VCTA Executive to accompany you to the meeting. By inviting us to the meeting, we can act as an observer in the proceedings and ensure that your rights are respected as outlined in the Collective Agreement. You should also CC us on your email communications with the Administration.
If you would like to have an Executive accompany you to the meeting, please send us an email (vcta@vaniercollege.qc.ca) or drop by our office in C-101 to let us know when and where the meeting will be held. If none of us are available to attend, know that you can ask the Admin to postpone the meeting so that you can have a VCTA Executive member present.
It is your right to have union representation at the meeting, and the College will accommodate this request.
CSN Congres, May 15-19
More than 1000 delegates from all sectors were present. Caroline Senneville was re-elected as President after a vote as her position was challenged. Some changes to the constitution were discussed and adopted. An amendment put forward by our colleagues from Cégep St-Laurent to strengthen the CSN commitment to the environment was extensively debated and ultimately defeated in favour of the tamer original motion. Other highlights of the week can be found here: https://www.csn.qc.ca/67e-congres/.
Negos
Attached are the three most recent sectoral table reports, summarizing the April and May meetings. Both parties’ demands were further detailed, starting to look at specific clauses in the collective agreement, but the pace of the discussions was slowed down due to unexpected departures on the employer’s side. The target date of the end of June to reach a settlement is visibly unrealistic.
The general feeling at the Central table is similar, as the government focuses on its own demands, refusing to seriously consider unions’ priorities. As a result, the Common Front officially called for the appointment of a mediator on May 18. This call is part of the intensification of the mobilization, and could lead to strike mandates during the Fall 23 semester.
Law 14
Some documentation was shared before our last GA, concerning the three French courses/courses in French. Since then, another meeting took place with the ministry (meeting report is attached), and further clarifications were obtained, notably on the Ayant-Droit status of Indigenous students and on the penalties for exceeding the official devis. The next official meeting will only take place in September.
Another requirement of the Charter was to update local language policies. This has been done at Vanier and the policy was presented to and recommended by Academic Council. Among other aspects, this policy defines how priority will be granted to certificate holders during the successive admission rounds.
FNEEQ’s Conseil fédéral
The meeting will take place between May 31 and June 2, in Shawinigan, the VCTA reps will participate. A report on AI in education was prepared by the “École et Société” committee, it will be presented and discussed, and it is attached to this bulletin. There will also be a presentation of an antiracist guide prepared by the “Interculturalité, Discrimination et Racisme Systémiques au Travail et Education” committee, and a presentation of the Joyce principle. Please let your reps know if you have any feedback you want us to share.
Staff Lounges – Clean Up
Over the summer, we will be giving the refrigerator, coffee makers, cabinets, and other surfaces a deep clean in both of our teachers lounges (C-101 and N-127).
To help with the process, please remove any items that you have left in these places. Anything items which remain as of June 2 will be discarded.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Cups
We need your help. All our coffee cups
have disappeared. If you should see any, please return them to the union lounge C-101. Enjoy the coffee and return the cup!
Professional Funds – Rollover Request
This is a friendly reminder that the deadline to rollover your PD funds is June 1st. A rollover allows you to combine two years’ worth of PD funds to attend a conference.
To rollover your funds, simply download the PD Application form from the link below and write in the description box: “Please roll over funds”, send it in to the VCTA before June 1st, and we’ll take care of the rest.
https://www.thevcta.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/VCTA-PD-Application.pdf
If you require further information about PD Funds, or have questions about the rollover request, feel free to send us an email at vcta@vaniercollege.qc.ca.
How Things Work
On occasion we will be adding a “How Some Things Work” column as an attachment to the News Bulletin. In this issue, we are focusing on the period of availability.
Availability
As mentioned in a recent email from the College, this year, the last day of availability is Friday, 9 June, and we return to work on 14 August. But what does that mean exactly?
According to the Collective Agreement (1-2.02, 1-2.03), even though we are employed by the College for the whole year, 12 months, a regular teaching year consists of 10 consecutive months within the calendar year. Teachers who have worked for the whole 10 months are entitled to two months of paid vacation (8-2.01) in the summer. The day following the end of availability in June is the start of this vacation period.
It is possible for regular day teachers to transfer a portion of their availability period to allow them to travel during availability or for other reasons. If, for example, a regular day teacher is planning a trip before 9 June this summer, they need to request a transfer of availability to their Dean. In short, they ask to relocate a portion of their availability from the end of this year (days before 9 June) to the beginning of next year to accommodate their plans.
This concerns regular day teachers who need to remain available to the College during the whole period of availability. But not all teaching is done within the 10 months of the regular teaching year. It is different for contract teachers in continuing education, and also for summer school, which do not follow the regular teaching schedule and year. The period of availability for contract workers and summer school teachers is indicated on their contract. It is not possible to transfer the availability in these cases.
Availability and the mechanism for its transfer apply as well to the winter holidays, the March break, and any other holiday during the teaching year as we remain available for the whole 10 months, even when there are no classes scheduled. If you plan to travel early this summer, or during the school year, look for the transfer of availability form.
Thank you and Enjoy the Summer!
This will be the last bulletin for this year. We wish you all a great summer whether you are teaching, working on a project, visiting family, or just relaxing. We would like to thank everyone for their contribution to committees and to other union work.
It is not always visible, but together we accomplish a lot in a year, thanks to all of you! We will be back in the fall to continue the fight for your rights, your jobs, and your health!