Policy 
(* denotes potential Policy Negotiation)

Date first Raised with Administration by UTFA

Overview

Status Details - May 18, 2023 Council meeting

Sexual Violence Policy LOU

November 2017

UTFA is seeking to negotiate a letter of understanding applicable whenever an UTFA member becomes involved in an investigation under the Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy as a Complainant, Respondent, or witness. UTFA's central areas of concern are preventing sexual violence on campus, putting procedural fairness safeguards in place, setting out reasonable timelines for investigations, ensuring transparent decision-making processes are rendered, and defining the investigation and processes from beginning to end. 

Administration provided requested data. UTFA will be analysing this data. New timeline for Working Group to issue report needs to be agreed. Arranging next bilateral meeting.

Academic Continuity Policy

December 2017 

In this negotiation, UTFA is seeking to defend the rights and interests of our members whenever the Administration wishes to declare an Academic Disruption. Our proposals aim to establish appropriate safeguards when an academic disruption is declared by the Administration, including requiring consultation with UTFA, to ensure the policy is invoked as a last resort. Key goals include protecting our members from being required to do the work of their colleagues in other bargaining units when a campus labour disruption occurs, confirming that UTFA will be consulted when a declaration of an academic disruption is being contemplated, and defining the role of librarians during an academic disruption.

First mediation session has been scheduled for September 28, 2023

Policy for Librarians (PfL)

January 2018

UTFA is in negotiations with the Administration to modernize the Policy for Librarians (PfL), which has not been updated in over 40 years. This policy governs librarian appointments, including ranks and categories of appointment, promotions criteria and procedures, research and study leave entitlements, and terms with respect to the appointment and tenure of senior library administrators. 

The next scheduled day of Arbitration is May 23, 2023

Librarian Systemic Bias Working Group

The mandate of the working group was set out in November 2019.

The Librarian Systemic Bias Working Group is an UTFA-Administration working group mandated to study and address issues related to systemic bias affecting librarians who self-identify as members of equity-seeking groups. The areas of examination include the effect on compensation of stream of hire, promotion rate, rank, as well as merit pay. The working group will consider quantitative and qualitative data and will publish a report at a future date to be agreed upon by the parties.

Ongoing work to review data and waiting for administration to provide data requested in August 2022. New timeline for Working Group to issue report needs to be agreed. Arranging next bilateral meeting.

Provostial Guidelines on Donations

2020

UTFA has taken the position that the the updated Guidelines on Donations does not adequately address protections from donor interference in collegial decision-making processes. UTFA is seeking to negotiate changes to the policy that better protect member academic freedom and confirm the importance of collegial decision-making.

The IHRP Grievance was referred to arbitration on March 9, 2023.

E-Monitoring Policy*

October 2022

Following Bill 88, The Working for Workers Act, 2022, the University issued its Policy on Transparency in Electronic Monitoring in November 2022.  UTFA is seeking greater transparency and privacy protections with respect to the Administration’s processes when it engages in the electronic monitoring of UTFA members. 

UTFA is preparing letter to respond to Administration's response on transparency and privacy issues.

Copyright and Intellectual Property*

Not yet raised with the Administration 

UTFA is reviewing the University’s Copyright Policy and we are comparing it against similar policies at other research-intensive universities in Canada. We hope to identify potential areas for improvements to the Policy which, in turn, will inform our bargaining positions about how to best protect our members’ copyright and intellectual property rights.

UTFA is reviewing copyright and IP policy language at other U15 Universities