STRIKE WOULD IMPACT PART-TIME PROFESSORS IN OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AND BILINGUALISM INSTITUTE
The Association of Part-Time Professors of the University of Ottawa (APTPUO) has given notice of a potential strike for part-time professors in the school’s Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI).
The APTPUO says the university — whom they are in the process of negotiating the first collective agreement for part-time professors in the OLBI with — is refusing to offer improvements in working conditions for these professors. The APTPUO’s members voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike vote, the association said.
“Compared to their part-time colleagues who teach on campus and do the same job, OLBI teaches have no benefits and have had no salary increases for more than seven years,” the APTPUO said in a press release on May 17.
U of O spokesperson Isabelle Mailloux-Pulkinghorn said the university had nothing to add at this time, citing the ongoing negotiations. Bargaining sessions will continue to be held the week of May 20.
The OLBI offers courses in English and French as a second language and a second language certification, a master of arts in bilingualism studies, and language support services for U of O professors and staff. The institute employs around 80 part-time professors and around 20 full-time professors, according to their website.
“Poor working conditions mean that the institute is a revolving door for language teachers. The university is losing its expertise in second-language teaching,” Robert Johnson, president of the APTPUO, wrote in the release.
More to come.
