The University of Ottawa assistance staff are officially on strike as of Monday morning, after collective bargaining ended up deadlocked. Dear members, we are writing today with an update on the ongoing negotiations between the University of Ottawa (SSUO) support staff and headquarters. As noted in our September 14 newsletter, very little progress was made at the last meeting of the two parties on the way to a fair and equitable agreement for support staff. Headquarters came back to the table with an offer that was “virtually indlementable” from the final offer that 80% of SSUO members rejected in June. On October 15, the SSUU will participate in a conciliation meeting with headquarters. Since the Ontario Labor Council has already issued a “No Board” report, the parties are in a legal strike/lockout position. Therefore, APUO members must be prepared for the real possibility of a work disruption that would directly affect APUO members and could put an end to many of our institution`s activities. In the event of an labour disorder, headquarters may ask you to take on tasks that are usually performed by assistance staff. In solidarity with our colleagues at the SSUO, we invite APUO members to use their right to refuse any staffing in the event of labour disturbances.
Here are some activities for which the support staff is responsible: in addition to the tasks mentioned above, the support staff also observes many other operational aspects of our university that have a direct impact on the student experience. So far, headquarters` approach to collective bargaining with the SSU has been uncompromising. As noted in our December 2019 bulletin, the record 2018-2019 financial surplus of $91.8 million is the total wage bill for USS members. On October 6, President Frémont announced that the university was reporting a surplus of $36 million for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. In fact, over the past thirteen years, the university has accumulated more than half a billion dollars of the cumulative surplus ($557.26 million exactly), which provides some services not provided to the university community. Headquarters` refusal to reach a fair and equitable agreement indicates a remarkable undervaluation of the contributions of SSU members to the success of our university. In addition, the workload of APUO members is increasing in line with the position of headquarters and persistent delays in the appeal of more than 100 vacancies in the assistance.