GR# 0870 - Employment Equity Obligations Under Article 30
Collective Agreement Referenced: 2008-2011 and 2011-2014
Article(s): 30
Nature of Dispute: The University failed to meet any of the agreed-upon deadlines for its actions in support of employment equity principles and procedures under Article 30 of the 2008-11 and 2011-2014 Collective Agreements.
Result of Grievance: The parties reached a settlement in 2015. The agreed-upon terms guide the hiring of the 50 tenure-track faculty over the next 3 years. The key key terms of the settlement are as follows:
- The Review Committee on Employment Equity (RCEE) will identify serious under-representation of designated group members (aboriginal peoples, racial minorities, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and women) and recommend hiring goals for AAUs/Faculties.
- All candidates will be scored on an evaluation grid. When an individual who is a designated group member obtains scores that are approximately equal to non-designated group members, the Appointment Committee must recommend the designated group member. Approximately equal means candidates whose scores on the grid differ by 8% or less of the total number of points available.
- All Appointments Committees will be assisted by an Employment Equity/Procedures Assessor (EE/PAs) who must be from a different AAU. AAUs that are given the opportunity to hire will be asked to name an EE/PA who will be trained and serve in another AAU. Service as an EE/PA will be considered equivalent to service on an AAU Appointments Committee in the member's own area for the purposes of renewal, promotion, tenure/permanence, and performance review.
- Based on the recommendations of the RCEE, the Provost will allocate at least 5 President's Career Awards in addition to the 50 tenure-track positions already announced. A President's Career Award is an offer of a tenure-track position to a current or former outstanding UWindsor student who completes her/his PhD and who is a member of an under-represented designated group.
- Mandatory training sessions will be provided for EE/PAs and Appointments Committees.
- Progress towards employment equity will be monitored annually.
Update Feb 21, 2017: WUFA is pleased to announce that the Article 30 policy grievance settlement will result in the hiring of 5 new professors under a new program: The President's Indigenous Peoples Scholars Program. The rationale is explained in Schedule A of the Minutes of Settlement (attached below) which was recently signed by both WUFA and Administration:
“In keeping with the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Universities Canada Principles of Indigenous Education, the University of Windsor has established the President’s Indigenous Peoples Scholars Program. Through this program, the University will appoint five Indigenous scholars to tenure-track faculty positions at the assistant professor level across a range of disciplines. The term “Indigenous Peoples Scholars” refers to scholars who self-identify as Indigenous (i.e., First Nations, Métis, or Inuit).”
Further details on deadlines and applications will be available from the administration soon.
Grievance initiated: May 3, 2011
Grievance resolved: July 15, 2015
Relevant Docs:
(1) GR# 0870
(2) Minutes of Settlement GR# 0870
(3) Schedule A of the Minutes of Settlement for GR# 0870
