Conciliation Update! March 26, 2025
First, please sign and share this petition! Public support goes a long way at the bargaining table! Let the Employer know you stand for a fair and equitable collective agreement!
Click on image to link to letter of support.
Conciliation Update
This week CUASA and the Employer entered into the process of conciliation. Dates are scheduled for March 26th, 27th and April 8th, 9th and 10th.
What is Conciliation?
Conciliation is the process by which a third party assists unions and employers with bargaining. CUASA applied for conciliation to the Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development at the end of January after a failure to make any significant progress on issues of workload with the Employer. On February 5th the Ministry assigned Paul Pooler as our conciliator. The conciliator aids in negotiations but does not have the power to impose a settlement.
Conciliation is required by the Ontario Labour Relations Act before a lockout/strike position becomes legal. If CUASA and the Employer don’t reach an agreement during conciliation either party can request that the conciliation officer report that outcome to the Minister of Labour. The Minister will then send a written notice to CUASA and the Employer that a “no-board” report has been issued. This begins the 17-day countdown to the date on which either the Employer or CUASA can begin a legal work stoppage – by a lockout or a strike respectively.
The release of a no-board report does not require negotiations at the table to stop.
CUASA will be bargaining various issues during conciliation including compensation and workload. Over the next couple of updates, we will provide more information on these issues, specifically what we are bargaining for and why. Today we start with Career Development Increments (CDI).
Why are we bargaining to protect the Career Development Increment (CDI)?
Many of us receive our annual CDI letter from our employer without giving it much thought. What is a CDI and why is it important? Career Development Increments (CDI) for CUASA employees at Carleton University is a form of “progression through the ranks”; it is akin to an annual step increase, a recognition of our growing and developing expertise in our profession. Almost all of us have spent significant amounts of time either in graduate school or developing expertise or professional practices that prepared us for our Carleton careers. Often times this training has deferred our potential earnings, especially compared to our peers who entered the job market much earlier in their lives. A CDI represents a contribution to lifetime earning in careers where the start had been delayed. CDIs are strongly protected by our CUASA collective agreement. They can only be denied for a lack of performance which must be clearly demonstrated by the employer. We aim to control the evaluation procedures to keep the process fair and free from biases. This protects your academic freedom!
In the current round of bargaining, the Employer has proposed significant and unprecedented changes to these protections that would make it easier for them to deny CDIs. These changes would make CDIs more akin to subjective measures, like performance reviews and “merit” based bonuses, rather than an objective system of progress through the ranks. No reasonable justification for such a substantive departure from a long-standing process has been provided by the Employer. CUASA will continue to defend the integrity of the CDI process.
How can I support the Negotiating Team?
You can support the Negotiating Team in bargaining for your bargaining mandate in a showing of public support!
Follow, like and share CUASA on social media on Bluesky, Twitter and Facebook!
Add a CUASA support banner to your email signature and include the support PowerPoint slide at the beginning and/or end of your classroom presentations.
Arrange to pick up hardcopy posters and stickers with us at [email protected] and post them on your office doors!
Questions about bargaining? Visit the new FAQ page. As always, if you have any comments or concerns please contact your Council Representative or write to us at [email protected].
The 2021-24 Collective Agreement remains in force until a new agreement is ratified by both parties, or until a lockout or strike. CUASA will continue to regularly inform its members on collective bargaining.
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