Durham College part-time support staff pass judgment on unfair treatment

OSHAWA, WHITBY, AJAX and UXBRIDGE, ON, Oct. 5 /CNW/ - Part-time support staff at Durham College campuses will pass judgment on the unfair treatment they've received for years when they vote this week on whether to join the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). The vote, which takes place Oct. 8 at the Oshawa and Whitby campuses, is part of the largest union certification vote in Ontario history with up to 10,000 college part-timers eligible to cast votes.

"Part-timers sit side-by-side with full-time staff and do the same work for less pay, get no benefits like medical, vacation pay or statuary holidays and no guarantee of work from one semester to the next," says Rick Nemisz, representing Durham workers. "It's very unfair because they bring the same level of skills, experience and qualifications to the job."

Until last year, it was against the law in Ontario for part-time support staff to unionize. That prompted colleges to hire more part-timers to save money by not having to pay for benefits and decent wages, both of which were won by full-timers through collective bargaining. The roughly 10,000 part-time college support staff now outnumber their 7,000 full-time colleagues.

"What does it say about our province when institutions like our colleges offer nothing more than precarious, part-time, temporary work to more than 60 per cent of support staff provincially?" adds Nemisz. "We need good jobs with decent wages and benefits in order to raise our families and build strong communities."

About half of college part-timers are student workers involved in financial assistance programs like the Ontario Work Study Plan, says OPSEU student organizer Kiera Chion. "Students at the colleges have no voice and little recognition for what they contribute," she says. "Student work is real work, and I don't think the colleges appreciate that."

The vote is supervised by the Ontario Labour Relations Board and takes place on specific dates at college campuses from Oct. 5 to 27. Vote times and locations are available at www.collegeworkers.org. OPSEU represents over 16,000 full-time support and academic staff at Ontario's colleges.

For further information: Rick Nemisz, [phone] x2589 or [phone]; Kiera Chion, [phone] (cell)