Know Your Rights: COVID-19 s.54 Settlement Re: “The Pivot”:

Hi Members, here’s a little blast from the past!

It’s come to my attention that many of you have lost track of your COVID-19 Workload Complaint s.54 Settlement information.

That’s totally understandable as it was well over a year ago that we finally settled it. Fast in terms of how long it normally takes to resolve a grievance, but almost two years after-the-fact, none the less.

In case there are any members who didn’t carefully read it when the first email messages were sent out or had deleted it without realizing it, and for any Faculty members who may have been inadvertently overlooked. I am re-posting the information regarding the s.54 workload complaint settlement to the Confluence Blog and will send out periodic reminders between now and August 31, 2024 – when using your extra granted PD days expires.  If you were working during W2020 & S/S2020 as either Term, Continuing, or BOTH – this settlement applied to you. 

While no one is usually happy with any settlement; the CCFA considers the not-quite-an-apology and admissions referring to the additional work caused by the Public Health Orders during the initial pandemic lockdowns to be as successful outcome as we could obtain.  The agreed to remediation is by no means equivalent to your efforts, but is one of the better settlements won, amongst locals who joined in the complaint.

Please note:

• Faculty with Term contracts during that period received a one-time payment of $300 when they applied, they had until March 15, 2022 to apply.
• Continuing Faculty employed during W2020 & S/S2020 receive 9 additional days to use for Professional Development purposes outside their normal SD allotment proportional to their FTE. 
• All you have to do to indicate that you are using a PD day, is to email your Dean or Director using the text in this letter.
• You have until August 31, 2024 to use the days, they do not carry over and cannot be banked, the use of these days must be “cost neutral” (no subs or replacements can be paid). 
• You DO NOT need to have your PD activity “approved”, nor are you required to submit any report.
• If you request PD Funds in addition to be used on those days, it would be treated the same as any other PD Fund request.

If you are confused about what your entitlement is; or if you have questions about being eligible, please contact us.

You cannot be denied as long as:

• They are scheduled outside of Scheduled Development time, during non‐instructional days
• They are not scheduled at a time when a department meeting is scheduled

Read these documents if you’d like to learn more about the history of this Labour Board Complaint and what lead up to the settlement:

CCFA Application

FPSE Application

PSEA Response Submission

FPSE-FAs+s88-reply-submissions

FPSE Reply S.88 – Appendix Compiled

COVID and MH Policy Paper

Beyond Burned Out

COVID-19 s.54 Settlement “The Pivot” 2021DEC17

College Letter to Continuing & Probationary Faculty Employed Winter, Spring, & Summer 2020

College Letter to Term Faculty Employed Winter, Spring, & Summer 2020

Joint Letter from CCFA & College on Use of Settlement Days

Faculty Response:

After the settlement first came out, I spent days responding to many of your questions and some very justifiable venting about the inadequacy of this settlement.  Your point was well made! For those of you teaching typical semester enrollment-based courses, this “settlement” was largely symbolic.  What was offered by our employer was largely constrained by PSEA and one requirement was that there be no direct cost to the employer.  For continuing faculty these PD days are supposed to be for you to use at your discretion during times you’d normally be required to be working or during a teaching term, and the only real benefit to most instructional faculty is that these days are autonomous requiring no associated proposal or report, unlike SD. 

All you have to do is simply write the date that you desire to use one (or more) of them in an email, and submit it to your Dean or Director.  These days are available to you in ADDITION to your SD.  For some faculty, it may feel like these days are of limited use – but for some, like our Learning Services and Counselling Faculty, they have high value because it allows them to access a degree of flexibility and autonomy most instructors are already privileged to have.

These days aren’t supposed to be taken during SD or when your department has required meetings.  They shouldn’t interfere with or replace vacation.  We know it they seem largely nominal or redundant; but, perhaps you could use some of them to bookend or create a buffer zones between terms, extend long weekends if it doesn’t conflict with your teaching and marking, or be able to attend a conference or take a short course during a term in which you’d normally have to use vacation time to be absent.  You can also apply for PD funds to be used during those days. You need to indicate that you are doing PD; your School will track the days (that’s why we agreed that you’d email your Dean or Director); and these will be considered work days and are paid at your Continuing FTE percentage.

Unfortunately, faculty members who retired in the intervening time after Summer 2020 are not covered by this settlement.  It’s just one of the holes that we could not cover—there were a few—during these already tense negotiations.  One of the concessions we did win, that some other locals did not, was the ALL instructors who taught Term courses during that time were eligible for the settlement payment (deadline to apply has passed).

This is basically what we mean when we say it was a settlement no one is actually happy with.  Many of you previously received some version of this message from me and considering just how many questions I received (and still get), I thought all might benefit from this clarification. Use this blog post to make applying for the days, or forwarding this message to anyone who might have been missed or still need this information, easier.    

I hope this helps to resolve some of your confusion, if not your rightful indignation, which I assure you, we all share.  Please let me know how else I can help it if haven’t.  As always, it is a privilege to serve our members and I’m so pleased that all who reached out with their questions did so!  If you have further questions, you can email Peg Ford ac.cb.nusomac@PdroF or Laurence Toffoletto ac.cb.nusomac@LotteloffoT.  If can’t remember if you were eligible or what your status was at the time, please also CC Jeanne Iribarne ac.cb.nusomac@enrabirI our Contract Management Chair.   

I hope this helps to serve as a reminder to those who these days could be useful, resolves any remaining confusion, and acknowledges your rightful indignation, which I assure you, we all share.  Please let me know how else I can help it if haven’t.  As always, it is a privilege to serve our members and I’m so pleased that all who reached out with their questions and continue to do so!   Remember, use ’em or Lose ’em by AUGUST 31, 2024!