STUDENTS RAISING HANDS

Those in college want answers about semester

Part-time professors at the University of Ottawa are in a position to strike as early as Oct. 30.

In a strike vote held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 92 per cent of the members of the Association of Part-Time Professors University of Ottawa (APTPUO) who cast a ballot voted in favour of a strike, said union spokesman Shawn Philip Hunsdale.

The union represents 700-plus part-time professors, which is all of the sessional lecturers at the university excluding part-time law professors. According to the union, the part-time professors teach half of first and second-year students.

“Our sincere efforts are to avoid a strike. But the mandate shows how seriously our members take getting back to the bargaining table,” said Hunsdale on Friday.

He declined to say how many of its members voted, but said there was a “huge turnout.” All members who have taught at the university in the past two years qualified to vote.

Oct. 26, 27, 28 and 29 have been set aside for bargaining.

The union’s contract ran out on Aug. 31, 2016. The union’s team had 13 meetings with the university over the past eight months. A number of minor issues have been resolved, but the union said it has not been able to make significant progress on other issues, including pay increases.

The part-time professors earn $7,800 for teaching a 39-hour course, which typically runs over a semester.

The university has offered a three-year contract with 1.25 per cent increase in each of the first two years and 1.5 per cent in the third year. The union is seeking a one-year contract with a three per cent increase, plus a three per cent catch-up and a four per cent increase in vacation pay, plus an “experience bonus” of two per cent each year for up to 10 years after the first two years worked and a severance bonus after working 15 years.

The union argues these increases would bring its members up to the average rates of other universities, including Carleton and Queen’s, and the university’s offer is below the rate of inflation.

The union argues that job security is precarious and is seeking benefits on par with full-time employees, and a more transparent hiring process. The union also said workload has increased significantly without additional compensation. jlaucius@postmedia.com