Ottawa, Nov. 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A coalition of workers and students from the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College, and La Cité, along with the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) and Fight for $15 and Fairness are hosting a rally in front of Minister of Training Colleges and Universities, Merrilee Fullerton’s Constituency Office in opposition to Bill 47. Ottawa campus workers and students are sending a clear message to the Minister: Hands off workers’ rights!
“The repeal of Bill 148 demonstrates that the Doug Ford government is not working ‘for the people’ of Ontario,” said Karen Cocq, Ottawa Organiser for Fight for $15 and Fairness. “Workers across Ontario fought hard to win a $15 minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and fair scheduling rules. Rolling back these rights will harm Ontarians struggling to make ends meet, including campus workers and students.”
Repealing the new labour laws would particularly affect students, many of whom work part-time jobs to help pay for their education and are forced to juggle work and class schedules. Freezing the minimum wage at $14 and repealing the fair scheduling rules will make it more difficult for students to pay for tuition, rent, and food, and balance their work shifts with classes and exams.
Moreover, at universities and colleges across the province, over half of faculty are now employed through precarious contracts without job security, and often paid less than their full-time colleagues for the same work. Many are forced to juggle work at multiple institutions just to make ends meet.
“Bill 47 will result in the continued rise of precarious work on our campuses, which will undoubtedly have consequences on the quality of the education delivered at Colleges and Universities across Ontario,” said Susan Spronk, President of the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa. “About half of the professors who teach at the University of Ottawa are working on part-time contracts, making about half the salary of full-time professors for similar work, and leaving them with a reduced capacity to host regular office hours, provide detailed feedback on students’ assignments, or to write letters of references. This is unfair to both contract faculty and students.”
Since the passage of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act, Ontario’s unemployment rate has remained below 6% and the province has added more than 80,000 jobs. This rally is part of a series of actions to have taken place across Ontario since the introduction of Bill 47 on October 23. The coalition of workers and students will demand that Fullerton pledge to oppose Bill 47.
Who: The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO), OPSEU Local 415 (representing professors at Algonquin College), the Canadian Federation of Students, Fight for $15 and Fairness, and other members of the labour and student movements.
What: Rally at Merrilee Fullerton’s Constituency Office
When: Friday November 2, 10 a.m.
Where: 240 Michael Cowpland Dr, Kanata, ON K2M 1P6