Faculty union at Laurentian to make a human rights challenge over pension plan bargaining

The Laurentian University Faculty Association is launching a Charter challenge against the Ontario government.

The union representing faculty at Laurentian University says it’s planning a human rights challenge to allow it to negotiate for pension plan improvements during collective bargaining.

The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) said in a news release Monday that, as part of the 2021 insolvency process the university went through, it has limits on bargaining its pension plan until 2038.

A loan agreement between the province and the Laurentian University administration “includes language that limits the possibility of bargaining the terms of the pension plan, a key issue for faculty at the institution.”

The insolvency process under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) also “imposed a contract for faculty, which included a series of concessions that worsened their working conditions.”

Now that the university has emerged from CCAA, “we demand that the injustice brought on by the CCAA filing end here,” LUFA president Fabrice Colin said in the news release.

“Our right to free and fair collective bargaining, as protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is the path to restoring the working conditions we know our members deserve.”

Salary cuts, job losses

A collective agreement was imposed in 2021 as part of the insolvency process, “that included salary cuts, changes to the pension plan and job losses,” LUFA said.

Colin said members have made “enormous sacrifices” to ensure LU’s viability.

“It is only fair that the Government of Ontario remove any limitations to our right to bargain fully the terms of our pension, or, allow our employer be able to repay its debts so it can get back to the bargaining table and deliver on fair working conditions, comparable to those enjoyed by colleagues at other universities across the province,” he said.

Since 2021, the federal government has passed laws amending the CCAA to prevent another public university from filing for insolvency under the act.

“The Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations are both supporting LUFA and will seek intervenor status in this charter challenge,” the release added.