December 12, 2022                                                 Issue 561

Owl Hoots

Inside this issue

Holiday Party
Reminder: Period of Availability
 Sick Days for Cont. Ed and End of COVID Accommodations
Final Grade Deadline
CEEC Snubs Teachers
DTU holiday hours

The DTU Executive
Louisa Hadley, President
President@dtu.qc.ca
Brian Seivewright, VP Internal
VPInternal@dtu.qc.ca
Mélanie Beck, VP External
VPExternal@dtu.qc.ca
Antonia Fikkert, Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary_Treasurer@dtu.qc.ca
Emilie Richer, Grievance Officer
grievanceofficer@dtu.qc.ca

Administrative Assistant
Elisabeth Leone
Elisabeth@dtu.qc.ca
DTU email: dtu@dtu.qc.ca

Holiday Party

After almost three years, the DTU party returned on Friday, December 9. It was great to see so many people out enjoying themselves with their colleagues. And it was particularly nice to be able to celebrate not only our retiring teachers, but also three years of new perms!

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers who helped with set up, decorations, lights, bartending, and clean up – your contributions helped make the party a success!

Reminder: Period of Availability

For day teachers and those teaching a Continuing Education charge course, the period of availability continues between semesters, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Since those fall on Sundays this year, the statutory holidays have been moved to Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2.

Teachers are available to the College during this period and are expected to be able to come to Dawson with reasonable notice if needed.

With the exception of submitting final grades, Continuing Education teachers do not owe any availability to the College after the last day of their contract.

Sick Days for Cont. Ed.
and End of COVID Accommodations

Following the Government’s announcement at the beginning of November that the mandatory COVID isolation was being lifted, the DTU brought the issue of sick days for Continuing Education faculty to CRT. We deplored the unacceptably low number of sick days (two annually) available for Continuing Education faculty and denounced that these are usually only partially remunerated. Continuing Education teachers are having to choose between financial hardship or putting members of the community at risk when they fall ill. Considering the significant infection rates and the risk that this may pose to the broader community, we asked the College to consider increasing the number of paid sick days for Continuing Education teachers. The College responded that although it is true that the College can exceed what is minimally required by the Loi sur les Normes de Travail, it chooses not to.

Following the Government’s announcement at the beginning of November that the mandatory COVID isolation was being lifted, the DTU brought the issue of sick days for Continuing Education faculty to CRT. We deplored the unacceptably low number of sick days (two annually) available for Continuing Education faculty and denounced that these are usually only partially remunerated. Continuing Education teachers are having to choose between financial hardship or putting members of the community at risk when they fall ill. Considering the significant infection rates and the risk that this may pose to the broader community, we asked the College to consider increasing the number of paid sick days for Continuing Education teachers. The College responded that although it is true that the College can exceed what is minimally required by the Loi sur les Normes de Travail, it chooses not to.

Sick Days for Cont. Ed.
and End of COVID Accommodations

Following the Government’s announcement at the beginning of November that the mandatory COVID isolation was being lifted, the DTU brought the issue of sick days for Continuing Education faculty to CRT. We deplored the unacceptably low number of sick days (two annually) available for Continuing Education faculty and denounced that these are usually only partially remunerated. Continuing Education teachers are having to choose between financial hardship or putting members of the community at risk when they fall ill. Considering the significant infection rates and the risk that this may pose to the broader community, we asked the College to consider increasing the number of paid sick days for Continuing Education teachers. The College responded that although it is true that the College can exceed what is minimally required by the Loi sur les Normes de Travail, it chooses not to.

Following the Government’s announcement at the beginning of November that the mandatory COVID isolation was being lifted, the DTU brought the issue of sick days for Continuing Education faculty to CRT. We deplored the unacceptably low number of sick days (two annually) available for Continuing Education faculty and denounced that these are usually only partially remunerated. Continuing Education teachers are having to choose between financial hardship or putting members of the community at risk when they fall ill. Considering the significant infection rates and the risk that this may pose to the broader community, we asked the College to consider increasing the number of paid sick days for Continuing Education teachers. The College responded that although it is true that the College can exceed what is minimally required by the Loi sur les Normes de Travail, it chooses not to.

Reminder: Period of Availability

For day teachers and those teaching a Continuing Education charge course, the period of availability continues between semesters, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Since those fall on Sundays this year, the statutory holidays have been moved to Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2.

Teachers are available to the College during this period and are expected to be able to come to Dawson with reasonable notice if needed.

With the exception of submitting final grades, Continuing Education teachers do not owe any availability to the College after the last day of their contract.

Final Grade Deadline

The deadline for all teachers to submit final grades is Friday, December 30. This deadline is the same whether you teach day courses or Continuing Education courses, and whether or not your course includes a final exam in the final examination period.

We have recently been in discussions with the College regarding the impact of intensive courses on the grade deadline. The Collective Agreement stipulates that there are only two regular semesters – Fall and Winter – and that the final grade deadline is 5 working days after the end of the semester (Clause 8-4.02). At Dawson, there are Fall semester intensive courses that are held in early January. The DTU’s position is that this extends the Fall semester and thus the final grade deadline should be 5 working days after the last intensive class ends. The College disagrees with this interpretation and has maintained that the grade deadline published in the Academic Calendar stands. We will be pursuing discussions with the College to ensure that our Collective Agreement is being respected.

CEEC Snubs Teachers

You may recall that at the end of November representatives from the Commission d’évaluation de l’enseignement collégial visited Dawson. Diane Gauvin sent an invitation to all members of the community to attend an open session to share their concerns with the Commission.

The CEEC is an advisory committee that provides recommendations to Cegeps and the Ministry of Education. The last time that Dawson went through the evaluation process with CEEC, it led to the imposition of the Summative Assessment in all courses. Since its implementation, we have regularly heard from teachers about the detrimental impacts of the Summative Assessment. Given this, the DTU encouraged its members to attend the open session with the CEEC and voice their concerns about the pedagogical implications of its decisions.

On November 23, a group of approximately 10 teachers, including several members of the DTU Executive, turned up at the Boardroom at the appointed time to meet with the CEEC. Things got off to a bad start as the CEEC members were packing up to leave and seemed surprised that teachers had come to meet them. They agreed to stay but only for 30 minutes, even though the meeting had been scheduled for an hour. However, the atmosphere was tense during the whole meeting and the chair of the CEEC seemed particularly hostile.

During the meeting, teachers asked for clarification on the mandate of the CEEC and raised concerns about the process, as well as the pedagogical implications of its recommendations. In particular, it was noted that the Dawson administration frequently presents recommendations from the CEEC as obligations that they have no choice but to implement. Several teachers also commented on the detrimental impact that the Summative Assessment has on student success and denounced that recommendations implemented on the advice of the CEEC are not determined and never approved by teachers.

The chair of the CEEC expressed surprise that teachers were not involved in the discussions, claiming that they had been presented as recommendations that had passed through Senate. One of the teachers present is currently serving as a Senator and was able to clarify that this was not the case. The CEEC repeatedly stated that their mandate is only to provide recommendations, and that any specific mechanisms implemented as a result of these recommendations are determined by the College.

While it was an extremely frustrating meeting, it was good to hear directly from the CEEC that their mandate is solely to recommend and that they expect that proposals that come from the College have gone through appropriate channels of faculty consultation and feedback. Next time our administration claims that its hands are tied and that they are simply implementing recommendations from the CEEC, we will know that this is not the case! Teachers, especially those involved in committees and Senate, should be pushing back on such claims and insisting on more active involvement from and consultation of all faculty in these processes – and not just a small group of faculty selected by the administration.

Dawson Teachers Union
3040 Sherbrooke, Westmount, Suite 8A.11
514-931-8731 ext 1799
dtu@dtu.qc.ca

THE OWL HOOTS No. 555
Issue No. 555
25 February, 2022

Contact
dtu@dtu.qc.ca
514.931.8731 x 1799
fax 514.931.0761
www.dtu.qc.ca
Dawson College, Room 8A.11
3040 Sherbrooke West
Westmount, QC.
H3Z 1A4

The DTU Executive
Brian Seivewright, President
President@dtu.qc.ca

Louisa Hadley, VP Internal
VPInternal@dtu.qc.ca

Mélanie Beck, VP External
VPExternal@dtu.qc.ca

Antonia Fikkert, Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary_Treasurer@dtu.qc.ca

Oran Magal, Grievance Officer
grievanceofficer@dtu.qc.ca

Administrative Assistant
Elisabeth Leone
Elisabeth@dtu.qc.ca

Confusing COVID Protocols

Disappointingly, as we approach the midpoint of our second in-person semester during a pandemic, there still remain uncertainties and inconsistencies around the College’s COVID protocols.

We have recently heard from several teachers that the College is insisting that they get a PCR test in order to be given permission to teach remotely during a period of COVID-isolation, even in cases where teachers have tested positive on multiple rapid tests. However, we have equally heard from other teachers that they were not required to provide PCR test results. The inconsistency in the College’s protocols is concerning. Requiring a PCR test from those who have already tested positive and/or are symptomatic not only adds to the pressures felt by teachers who are trying to figure out how to manage their absence, but also places unnecessary strain on the health system. Indeed, the government recommends that people who test positive via a rapid test should isolate to avoid spreading the virus; requiring teachers to go to a testing centre to get a PCR test goes against this recommendation.

We would understand the need for such official documented proof of COVID if the College were applying the quarantine leave that is provided for in our Collective Agreement. To date, though, we are unaware of any teacher who has been granted this leave. The College continues to reiterate its position that teachers who feel well enough can teach remotely and so do not need a quarantine leave. The PCR test seems to be required solely for administrative purposes and seems to imply a lack of trust in teachers. Moreover, it is particularly frustrating given that teachers are continuing to work while sick and that such documentation is not required for students, for whom teachers are being asked to provide accommodations.

With regards to accommodations for students, we have heard from some teachers that there is a delay in receiving the notification of an accommodation and concerns about students returning to class prior to the end of their COVID accommodation period. We have confirmed with the College that no student should return to class before the date indicated on the COVID accommodation email sent to teachers. If a student presents themselves to your class prior to this date, you should ask them to leave and should email Student Services to inform them of the situation (studentbehaviour@dawsoncollege.qc.ca).

Crowded Classes and College Resources

At the start of this discombobulated semester, we received several emails from members concerned about student numbers in their classrooms. While there are no requirements for social distancing in classrooms, the large number of students raises concerns not only in the context of COVID, but also in terms of room capacity and the impact on teacher workloads.

Although the College did not seem to be exceeding official room capacities, it was clear that there had been no attempt to reduce the number of students per section and that the College returned to the “normal” practice of allowing more students to register on the assumption that some would drop. In the context of an ongoing pandemic, it is disappointing that the College did not attempt to inject additional resources to reduce the number of students per section, which would have had the added benefit of opening more sections and thus creating more work.

When we reviewed updated numbers from the College for the 2020-2021 academic year, we discovered that the College had not used all of the resources it had been allocated. At the end of the Fall semester, it became apparent that there were 17 ETCs worth of resources which the College had not allocated. The College could have chosen to use these to reduce student numbers by opening more sections for the Winter 2022 semester, which would have had the effect of improving both working conditions for teachers and learning conditions for students. Instead, the College decided to maintain this “surplus”.

At a recent meeting with the College, it claimed that most of these resources had already been used to cover the higher-than-usual drop rates in the Fall semester. The College also said that it anticipated that the remaining “reserve” would be used to cover higher-than-anticipated substitution costs – this despite the fact that most teachers are opting to work remotely when isolating due to COVID, even when they are unwell!

It’s no wonder that in the midst of a pandemic, with large class sizes and ongoing emergency online teaching, so many of us feel burnt out. If anything, the College should have used resources to support both teachers and students by reducing group sizes.

Nego 2023: Consultations

Although the new Collective Agreement is not yet signed, it will expire at the end of March 2023. So, preparations and consultations have already begun for the next round of negotiations. In early February, we sent a survey to all members to get some feedback on the last round of negotiations as well as some preliminary thoughts about possible orientations and alliances for the next round.

As part of the consultation process, the negotiation team is visiting all local unions to hear from the membership. Our liaison on the negotiation team, Josée Delziel, will be visiting Dawson on Wednesday, March 30th at 1pm. While all members are welcome to attend, we are  also encouraging each department to nominate a representative to ensure a diversity of representation and voices at the meeting. We will be contacting coordinators shortly after the March break regarding the representatives.

Online Pilot Project

As you are no doubt aware, the College launched an Online Pilot Project this semester. Almost  80 proposals have been accepted and are currently being implemented.

As we explained in our Welcome Back Memo (18 Jan, 2022), since we were first informed of the College’s intention to launch this project, we have repeatedly raised our concerns regarding the timing of the project, the approval process, and the involvement of departments. As of yet, the College has failed to respond in any meaningful way to specific concerns and questions that we have raised, despite guidelines in the Collective Agreement. Most surprisingly, we have been unable to get the College to provide any concrete examples of the types of pedagogy that are being used in online teaching as part of the Pilot Project. The College has recently indicated that it intends to send a memo to all faculty about the Pilot Project, but in the absence of the memo and based on previous discussions, we are not convinced that the information provided will be sufficiently detailed.

While we are aware that some departments were able to engage in a vetting and approval process for proposals last semester, many others felt that there was insufficient time to fully engage with questions of whether online pedagogy is appropriate for their discipline. Indeed, some departments passed motions refusing to participate in the project before further discussion could be held. Whatever position your department took, we anticipate that there need to be ongoing departmental discussions and decisions related to online teaching.

We believe that these discussions will be most productive if they are undertaken in a context of transparency. To that end, we contacted coordinators last week and invited them to consider adopting a motion at a department meeting requesting specific information from the College with regards to the Online Pilot Project. We encourage you to participate in discussions about whether online teaching is appropriate for your discipline and, if so, how it should be implemented.

Know Your Rights: Union Representation at Meetings

As per the Collective Agreement, teachers always have the right to be accompanied by a Union representative to any meeting with the College. In recent years, the College has increasingly engaged external firms, such as Relais Expert, to conduct investigations under various policies. To clarify, teachers’ right to Union representation extends to such meetings with external firms.

Moreover, the College has an obligation to inform the Union whenever teachers are convened to a meeting that could lead to disciplinary measures. In discussions with the College, it had not been clear whether it would inform the Union when teachers are convened to meetings with external firms.

Although the College has recently confirmed that it would inform the Union when teachers are convened to such meetings, we always encourage teachers to contact the Union immediately if convened to a meeting with either the administration or an external investigation firm. We can talk you through the usual process and accompany you to the meeting itself to ensure that your rights are respected.

Challenging the College on its “Wellness Challenge”

Once again, the College has launched a “Dawson Wellness Challenge”. This year’s challenge is even bigger – running for 8 weeks with various activities and challenges – but not better! It still fails to address the real issues that impact teacher wellness.

In the midst of yet another pandemic semester, the College is still not recognising the quarantine leave in our Collective Agreement, and many faculty are reporting feeling pressured to teach remotely while sick or even return to work before they have fully recovered. Moreover, the College seems to be refusing requests from teachers who need to take a leave for family reasons to take care of their children during the March break. This is on top of the long-standing issues that Continuing Education teachers do not have access to adequately paid sick days, nor do they have access to the Employee Assistance Program.

Last year, we organized a campaign to call out the College’s lack of concrete initiatives to address these issues for teachers. Shortly after we launched the campaign, the Yammer page used for the Wellness Initiative was made private.

We are hoping to organise a short campaign in conjunction with the “mid-term” and “Final Week” activities of the Wellness campaign – stay tuned for more details! In the meantime, we encourage you to share your thoughts on the College’s Wellness initiative, including what the College could do to meaningfully support your wellness, by writing to the organisers: sustainability@dawsoncollege.qc.ca and pscott@dawsoncollege.qc.ca, and copying in the DTU (dtu@dtu.qc.ca).

International Women’s Day

The DTU will once again join the Dawson Support Staff Union and the Association of Dawson Professionals in marking International Women’s Day on March 8th – a day to recognise the achievements of women as well as the importance of the continued struggle for gender equality.

Please join us in the Rose Lounge (7C.5) any time between 2:30 and 4 pm.

There will be a book sale with proceeds going to support Chez Doris, and a take-away snack while supplies last! We also invite you to visit the DTU office (8A.11) at your convenience to pick up CSN posters, stickers, and pins celebrating this year’s theme: “L’Avenir est Féministe”.

Know Your Rights: Double Employment – Remuneration

Many of our members often bring questions to us about Double Employment. For more details on the definition of Double Employment and how the Double Employment clause works in practice, see our previous article.

One type of Double Employment the DTU is often asked about is when a teacher who is already employed full-time at the College is offered an additional portion of a workload, such as a course or replacement for part of a course. In such cases, there is a question concerning how a teacher would be paid.

According to our Collective Agreement, teaching tasks in the Regular sector must be remunerated by CI. However, in some cases, it might be more beneficial for a teacher to be paid for the additional work at an hourly rate instead of by CI. The College may do so only with the Union’s agreement (Clause 5-1.16), and the Union must consider both the interests of the individual teacher and the impact it would have on the overall resources available for staffing.

What is the difference between CI and hourly-pay in this context?

Generally, CI pay is better than hourly-rate pay as our CI takes into account not only contact hours, but also preparation, grading and student numbers. A full-time CI is typically between 80 and 85 for the year; if a teacher’s CI is above 85 for the year, the College must pay a “CI Violation” compensation (Clause 8-6.01 d)). The following formula is used to calculate the number of hours that need to be paid at the hourly rate: (CI-85)*5.

As a consequence, it is possible that a teacher who takes on an additional workload may receive little or no additional remuneration if paid by CI.

How does the Union make the decision?

Since we work in a Unionized environment, the College must get the Union’s approval before proceeding to pay any regular sector work at the hourly rate. The Union has a responsibility to both the individual teacher and to the faculty as a whole; part of the Union’s role is to oversee the College’s management of the masse (the collective budget from which all regular sector teachers’ salaries are paid).

Before it can determine whether or not it can agree to the College remunerating a teacher at the hourly rate, the Union needs to compare the remuneration the teacher would receive if paid hourly with the remuneration they would receive if it is paid in CI. The Union cannot do the necessary analysis until the annual CI values are confirmed by the College, which only happens at the end of February.

Consequently, there can often be delays in determining how a teacher can be paid. In cases where the work was completed in the Fall semester, the analysis can only happen once the annual CI is confirmed by the College. If the work is completed in the Winter semester, it may not be possible to complete the necessary analysis prior to the end of the semester.

FNEEQ-CSN Anti-Racism Survey

The Observatory of Racial Inequalities in Quebec(OIRQ) has created a questionnaire “aimed at probing the experiences and perceptions of people […] who have been victims of employment discrimination. The purpose of the study is to raise public authorities’ awareness of the experiences of discrimination of immigrant and racialized populations in Quebec and to help find appropriate solutions.“ We invite you to complete their questionnaire if you are an immigrant or racialized person who has been the subject of employment discrimination in Quebec.

Work From Home 2021 – Calculating Days

Several members have been asking how many days of remote work we did in 2021 for tax purposes. In 2021, we worked remotely for the Winter semester only. Between 1st January 2021 and 14 June 2021, full-time, Regular sector teachers worked 111 days remotely (excluding strike days and statutory holidays).

THE OWL HOOTS No. 553
Issue No. 553
5 October, 2021

Contact
dtu@dtu.qc.ca
514.931.8731 x 1799
fax 514.931.0761
www.dtu.qc.ca
Dawson College, Room 8A.11
3040 Sherbrooke West
Westmount, QC.
H3Z 1A4

The DTU Executive
Brian Seivewright, President
President@dtu.qc.ca

Louisa Hadley, VP Internal
VPInternal@dtu.qc.ca

Mélanie Beck, VP External
VPExternal@dtu.qc.ca

Antonia Fikkert, Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary_Treasurer@dtu.qc.ca

Oran Magal, Grievance Officer
grievanceofficer@dtu.qc.ca

Administrative Assistant
Elisabeth Leone
Elisabeth@dtu.qc.ca

The DTU Executive invites you to drop by our office in 8A.11. We can answer questions regarding workloads, seniority and priority, schooling and work experience documentation, and anything else related to working at Dawson. In particular, before turning down work we encourage you to come and discuss the implications with us. We always recommend copying us into communications with the College so that we can help to make sure that your rights are protected. You can also call us at local 1799, or email us at dtu@dtu.qc.ca with any questions.

Upcoming General Assembly

Upcoming Deadlines

Personal Leave Requests: October 15th 
If you wish to apply for a personal leave for Winter 2021, the deadline is October 15th. The application form is available on the College website. 

Voluntary Workload Reduction Requests: November 15th
If you wish to apply for a partial Voluntary Workload Reduction for Winter 2022, the deadline is  November 15th. Note that you can apply for a reduction of your workload. You should complete the form on the College’s website, and email it to hrfaculty@dawsoncollege.qc.ca. We suggest that you copy the DTU on this email at dtu@dtu.qc.ca.

Professional Development Leave Requests
Although there is no contractual deadline for applications for a professional development leave, the College requests that applications for the Winter semester be submitted by October 15th. The application form is available on the College website.

Professional Development Funds
Professional Development Funds are available to all faculty and can be used to fund professional activities such as attending workshops, participating in conferences, and taking courses. Teachers can also apply for a reimbursement of up to $100 for computer equipment.

The PDF committee meets a few times each semester to review applications. Applications should be submitted to pdfsecretary@dawsoncollege.qc.ca for consideration at the next meeting. We ask that applications be submitted prior to the date of the proposed activity.

Surveys

Sexual Violence Policy survey
You may have noticed in your Omnivox that the College has distributed a survey regarding the Policy on Sexual Violence. As per its legal obligations under Bill 151, the College has to review the policy and is seeking feedback from the community as part of this process. 

During the development of the policy and since it was first implemented, the DTU has raised several concerns to the College. In particular, we disagree with the College’s decision to designate a Human Resources employee as the Primary Contact Person for employees to report instances of sexual violence. Given the sensitive nature of these types of instances, we do not believe it is appropriate for someone in a managerial position to be the initial point of contact. The College has designated Counselling services as the Primary Contact Person for students; employees should similarly have the opportunity to disclose to someone who is specifically trained to deal with these issues. Another concern we have is that the mandatory training module primarily presents teachers in the position of aggressor; it is important that the training module accurately reflects the various forms of sexual violence that may be encountered and does not create misconceptions.

If you share these concerns, we encourage you to add these to your own feedback when you complete the survey. Please note that the survey is available until October 13th 2021.

The DTU invites New Teachers to an information session on Thursday 21st October at 2:30 (room to be determined). 

Come out to meet your Union representatives and get information on your contracts, workload and anything else you might be interested in.

Please RSVP at dtu@dtu.qc.ca

Update on Covid Protocols

Upon the return to in-person teaching this semester, the College gave a directive to teachers and students to stay home if they are displaying symptoms associated with Covid. Teachers have been asked to make accommodations for students in this situation, as discussed below. Similarly, the College has a responsibility to provide clear and consistent accommodations for teachers in this situation, but these have so far been lacking.

Missing a Class due to Symptoms

Initially, the College insisted that when a teacher misses a class for any reason, the class would be either cancelled or substituted – that there was no possibility of remote teaching. We then heard reports that certain sectors were allowing remote teaching in some circumstances when approved by their Sector Dean. There has yet to be a clear and consistent directive from the College about this situation.

Since mid-August, we have continually reminded the College that because Continuing Education teachers have only 2 sick days per year, these teachers may find themselves in the position of deciding between sacrificing their salary or jeopardizing our collective public health. We asked the College whether they had made any plans to allocate special provisions for these teachers’ sick days. They responded that they had not, nor had they analyzed the financial implications of such an allocation. The College consistently refuses to provide additional sick days despite the large surplus generated by Continuing Education teachers each year. This situation is unacceptable under any circumstances, and especially irresponsible during a pandemic.

Missing a Class due to Quarantine

Our Collective Agreement includes a clause (5-9.01 h) which allows a teacher to take a paid leave, not deducted from a sick bank, when ordered to quarantine by public health. It applies to both Day and Continuing Education sectors. For more detail, see the  email titled ‘Quarantine Leave’ that we sent on September 23rd.

Incomprehensibly, the College maintains that this leave does not apply and that a teacher should work remotely if they are well enough. If they are not able to teach remotely, the College considers them to be on a sick leave, and days will be deducted from their sick bank, if available. Teachers who do not have access to sick days will not be paid for their absences. We strongly disagree with the College’s position. 

If Santé Publique directs you to isolate, we urge you to communicate with the DTU as soon as possible so that you can avail yourself of a solution that is best for both you and your students.

Covid Protocols Applied to Students

The College has asked teachers to monitor students’ health and to require them to leave class if they display “unusual” symptoms. We asked for clarity about this and pointed out that this is not an effective health policy since teachers are not medical professionals. In addition, teachers have a responsibility to ensure that students are following the rules regarding masking within the classroom. If a student in your class repeatedly refuses to wear their mask properly, you should report them to Student Services, who should be keeping track of violations and issuing warnings. If you ask a student to leave the classroom and they refuse to do so, you should call security at 1500.

When your students miss class because they are isolating or feeling unwell, remember to ask them to contact dawsonhealthservices@dawsoncollege.qc.ca and also to do so yourself. Accommodations must be made for students in this situation, within reason and within your department’s policies. We recommend making this accommodation as simple as possible for yourself. Keep in mind that students who are unable to catch up due to their health situation can apply for an authorized absence.

The College has made it clear that if a student has shared medical information with you, you should not divulge it to the rest of the class. We understand that it is important for students to be aware of the situation, but teachers must respect students’ privacy here. Dawson Health Services now has access to class lists and contact information and has updated their procedure for Covid-positive students so that teachers and students should be informed simultaneously about a potential contact. This will now take place before Dawson Health Services receives further instruction from Santé Publique. 

Teacher Evaluations

We have heard from several teachers who have been contacted by OAD for teacher evaluations this semester. We were somewhat surprised to hear that teacher evaluations have resumed; while we are back in person this semester, the context in which we are teaching is still far from normal. If you have concerns about the teacher evaluations, we encourage you to share them with the Dean of Academic Development (clebel@dawsoncollege.qc.ca) and your sector Dean, copying in the DTU if you would like.

College Readiness

Since coming back to in-person work in August, many teachers have raised concerns about the lack of readiness of College facilities for both teachers and students. This includes such issues as cleanliness (both classrooms and bathrooms), classroom equipment, the availability of masks and hand-sanitizers, and ventilation, particularly in the G wing. 

The DTU has been raising these concerns with the College, who in turn has acknowledged the problems and expressed a commitment to addressing them. Teachers who encounter ongoing problems of this nature are encouraged to write to their Sector Dean and/or to Facilities Management, as appropriate, and to copy the DTU.

Know Your Rights:

Leave for Family Reasons

The Collective Agreement includes a leave for family reasons (see Clause 5-9.06). Teachers can take a leave of up to 10 days a year to take care of their child or for the health of their spouse, parent, sibling, or grand-parent. The first 6 days of this leave are deducted from the teacher’s sick bank, if available; the remaining 4 days are unpaid. 

DTU and Senate Elections

The nomination and election periods for the following positions will be announced in the coming weeks:

• Senate representative – Social Science / ALC (1 position)
• Executive Council representatives – ALC, Social Science & Business Technologies, Arts Technologies, All Technologies, Retirement Committee Coordinator
• PDF Committee (1 position)
• Audit Committee (3 positions)

The Senate and Executive Council are important bodies at the College where teachers’ voices can be heard on various issues related to our teaching and working conditions. If you are looking for a way to get more involved and have an impact, we encourage you to consider running for one of the open positions. 

Please note that in order to be able to vote, you must be a registered member of the DTU. You can register by completing the DTU’s membership form, which you can pick up at the DTU office (room 8A.11).

FNEEQ’s Position on Bill 96

In the context of discussions around bill 96, FNEEQ has taken a position, which can be consulted here. FNEEQ representatives have asked to present its position during the debate. The English College steering committee has prepared a brief on Bill 96. As more information is available about the proposed bill and its implications, we will communicate them to members. 

Issue No. 550
3rd February, 2021

The DTU Executive
Brian Seivewright, President
President@dtu.qc.ca

Louisa Hadley, VP Internal
VPInternal@dtu.qc.ca

Mélanie Beck, VP External
VPExternal@dtu.qc.ca

Antonia Fikkert, Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary_Treasurer@dtu.qc.ca

Oran Magal, Grievance Officer
grievanceofficer@dtu.qc.ca

Administrative Assistant
Elisabeth Leone
Elisabeth@dtu.qc.ca

Welcome Back! Like you, the DTU Executive is working remotely! We can answer questions regarding workloads, seniority and priority, schooling and work experience documentation, and anything else related to working at Dawson. In particular, before turning down work, we encourage you to contact us to discuss the implications. You can email us at dtu@dtu.qc.ca with any questions. 

Coalition Main Rouge

Négo Updates

Currently all negotiations are at a standstill. There has been no movement at the Central Table (where issues of salary, pensions, and parental rights are discussed) since November and now the sectoral table has stalled as well. While some of this is understandable due to the situation with COVID-19 and remote working, this cannot be used as an excuse to delay negotiations.

During the Fall semester, there had been some movement at the Sectoral table, which is focused on the specific working conditions of Cegep teachers. The FNEEQ negotiating team met regularly with the government representatives, and they had some promising discussions regarding our demands. There appeared to be openness towards reaching agreements on some small issues.

However, the FNEEQ negotiating team has now reached an impasse regarding the demands that require additional funding as there appears to be no commitment from the government to resolve these issues. Notably, these demands relate to pay equity for Continuing Education, more resources for coordination, and increased resources for medical technologies. The government negotiators have received no mandates to settle any of the issues and the money required to meet the demands is not forthcoming. 

We have now reached the moment where our negotiating teams need our support to demonstrate to the government our commitment to improving our working conditions. There is a good possibility that we can achieve significant improvements for Continuing Education teachers through FNEEQ’s modified proposal (DS-5), but if this possibility is to become a reality, we need to fight for it! 

At our upcoming General Assembly on 16 February we will discuss ramping up pressure tactics and planning for a potential strike mandate. Several of you have already participated in recent “web actions” to raise awareness around negotiations – check out the facebook group cégep FNEEQ en Nego to see some of the creative pressure tactics being deployed across the network. It is important that we show our solidarity for the other public sectors in the CSN, particularly those in the health sector where their ability to deploy negotiation pressure tactics is limited by legal frameworks as well as the current public health situation. Come and join us to share your thoughts about how we can support our negotiation teams to ensure a positive outcome to these negotiations!

Winter 2021 – Cont Ed Encadrement

The Ministry of Education has allocated various ‘envelopes’ of additional funding to support student success and alleviate some of the additional burdens of remote learning during the Winter semester. We had several meetings with the College last semester regarding how they intend to allocate the resources at Dawson. The College indicated that these resources would be allocated in various ways, including some release for teachers to provide support in discipline-specific aspects of online teaching, lower the caps on student numbers in classes in some disciplines, and remunerate Continuing Education teachers who agree to provide encadrement for their students.

Given that encadrement falls outside of the contractual obligations of hourly-paid Continuing Education teachers, the DTU and College reached an agreement about how this was to be implemented. The College sent details about this to all cont-ed teachers at the end of last week. (If you have not received this information, you should contact the Cont Ed office to ensure you are on their mailing lists). 

If you agree to provide this encadrement, you need to reply to the email sent by the Cont Ed office confirming that you accept the agreement, and you need to include a section on your Course Outline under the heading “Special Winter 2021 Encadrement” outlining the forms of encadrement you will be providing to students.

Useful Information for Members

Confucius Institute

For a long time, the DTU and many of our members have expressed concerns about Dawson’s partnership with the Confucius Institute. In 2014, the Executive Council took a position regarding the renewal of the contract which was communicated to then-DG Richard Filion; however, he was reluctant to take these concerns to the Board of Governors:

The DTU recommends to the Board of Governors of Dawson College to follow the recent example of several North American institutions by severing its ties with the Confucius Institute, unless the current agreement between them is renegotiated so that Dawson College has control over all academic matters, including the recruitment of teachers.

Concerns about the extent to which the Confucius Institutes are directed by the Chinese government have persisted, and several higher education institutions in Canada and elsewhere have terminated their partnerships in recent years. More recently, several members have expressed their concerns about the Institute, especially in light of the current human rights abuses being committed against Hong Kongers and Uyghurs. One such member, Fiona Hanley from Nursing, prepared a statement about the Confucius Institute which she has asked us to share with the membership. You can read the full text of her letter here: The coronavirus, the CI and China.

With Richard Filion’s retirement and the appointment of Diane Gauvin as the new Director General at Dawson, priorities and positions may change. In light of this, the DTU recently contacted Diane Gauvin to solicit her position on the Confucius Institute. She responded: “My intention is to review the impact of the Confucius Institute on the college and the Montreal community. I must also look at the legal aspects of the agreement that has been signed and speak to our partners.” We intend to follow up with the Director General and will continue to advocate for academic freedom and human rights on our campus.

Settlement of Insurance Dossier

Several years ago, the DTU identified numerous issues in the College’s billing practice for the insurance premiums, which had led to some teachers not being charged correctly and/or not having the correct coverage. The DTU Executive has been working with FNEEQ, La Capitale and the College to identify the errors and calculate the amounts owed to individual teachers. We are close to an agreement with the College and La Capitale regarding the reimbursements, and we hope to be able to communicate with individual teachers concerned in the near future.

Issue 549
October 14, 2020

Contact
dtu@dtu.qc.ca
514.931.8731 x 1799
fax 514.931.0761
www.dtu.qc.ca
Dawson College, Room 8A.11
3040 Sherbrooke West
Westmount, QC.
H3Z 1A4

The DTU Executive
Émilie Richer, President
President@dtu.qc.ca

Brian Seivewright, VP Internal
VPInternal@dtu.qc.ca

Mélanie Beck, VP External
VPExternal@dtu.qc.ca

Diana Glennie, Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary_Treasurer@dtu.qc.ca

Louisa Hadley, Grievance Officer
grievanceofficer@dtu.qc.ca

Administrative Assistant
Elisabeth Leone
Elisabeth@dtu.qc.ca

The DTU Executive is working remotely! We can answer questions regarding workloads, seniority and priority, schooling and work experience documentation, and anything else related to working at Dawson. In particular, before turning down work, we encourage you to contact us to discuss the implications. You can email us at dtu@dtu.qc.ca with any questions.

Upcoming Deadlines

Personal Leave Requests: October 15th
If you wish to apply for a personal leave for Winter 2020, the deadline is 15th October. The application form is available on the College website. 

Voluntary Workload Reduction Requests: November 15th
If you wish to apply for a Voluntary Workload Reduction for Winter 2020, the deadline is 15th November. You should email Cristina Stanciu in Human Resources at hrfaculty@dawsoncollege.qc.ca. We suggest that you copy the DTU on this email at dtu@dtu.qc.ca.

Professional Development Leave Requests
Although there is no contractual deadline for applications for a professional development leave, the College requests that applications be made by 15th October. The application form is available on the College website. 

Professional Development Fund Requests
The Professional Development Fund Committee have resumed its meetings and are currently reviewing applications. For your request to be considered at the next meeting of the PDF Committee, submit it by email to pdfsecretary@dawsoncollege.qc.ca. We ask that applications be submitted prior to the date of the proposed activity.

As a reminder, the Professional Development Fund is for activities related to professional training and development, such as courses and conferences; this fund cannot be used to reimburse expenses for software, office equipment, or office supplies. The DTU believes that the College has a responsibility to ensure that teachers have the necessary equipment to fulfil their duties and will continue to advocate for this. 

Serious Concerns regarding non-opening of Postes in Several Disciplines

As per our Collective Agreement, the College must declare postes (permanent positions) to the Ministry by prescribed dates, the last of which was September 30th. By this date, the College is required to make final predictions regarding  the number of full-time teachers required in each discipline.

This year, when declaring the final number of postes, the College omitted to take into consideration most of the additional resources added to the Winter semester, despite knowing that they would be necessary. The College also failed to present the Union with staffing estimates by September 25th, as is required by the contract. 

We were informed on the afternoon of September 30th that the College would only be declaring 2 additional postes to the ministry, despite a huge number of ETCs being added to staffing estimates. No explanation was provided, nor were we provided with the numbers on which they were basing their assessment. Since then, it has become apparent that the College did not take the time to determine whether or not postes should be opened, in particular in the General Education disciplines where we believe additional postes should have been declared in English, Humanities and Physical Education. 

Transparency in the staffing process has been consistently problematic, although the DTU has made certain strides in recent years. The College often refuses to provide us with the documents required to verify their numbers. In recent years we have developed our own tools to help us make staffing assessments. This has led us to be more confident in our own numbers.

We are currently evaluating what options, legal or otherwise, may be the best for those teachers who may have been affected. Needless to say we are extremely disappointed with the College, whose actions suggest a disregard for those teachers who, after almost a decade, continue to await their permanence.  

Work-Family Balance

Given that many teachers are particularly struggling with work-family balance in the current context, we would like to take this opportunity to inform members of certain clauses in the Collective Agreement that provide measures to help teachers manage their work-family balance.

Parental Leaves (See Clause 5-6.00): All faculty having recently welcomed a child into their family are eligible for parental leaves (maternity or paternity leaves, or adoption leaves). Our Collective Agreement stipulates that both experience and seniority are protected for faculty availing themselves of such leaves, regardless of whether they are permanent, non-permanent, Cont. Ed. or AEC faculty. Furthermore, salary protection is available for the majority of faculty availing themselves of a parental leave. We strongly recommend that teachers communicate with the Union to discuss the specifics if you are considering a parental leave in the near future.

Scheduling (See Clause 8-3.03 c): The Collective Agreement states that the College has an obligation to provide accommodations to a teacher’s schedule to facilitate work-family balance, when resources and organisation allows. Several teachers avail themselves of these accommodations by requesting particular “block-offs” in their schedules to facilitate school drop-offs or pick-ups. The College recently seems to have changed how it is processing these requests, with some sector Deans indicating that these accommodations are only available to parents of children with specific medical issues. The Union contests this and has asked that the College put in place clear policies that all teachers are aware of.

Ransomware attack at Cegep St.-Felicien

Cegep St.-Felicien was victim of a cyberattack on September 17, 2020 and ransomware was employed to shut down its entire network. Because of this, all teaching activities were halted for a period of one week. Teaching activities have now resumed, but you can imagine that in this period when online teaching is prioritized, having no access to the College portal makes things rather impossible. Teachers were also left without access to their online materials. Moreover, computers that are connected to the College serves cannot be used until it has been verified that they are not infected. We wish to remind you that it’s always a good idea to backup your digital files on your own computer and to ensure that your passwords are strong.