Guide for New FEC-CSQ Teachers
9405 Sherbrooke St. East
Montreal, Quebec H1L 6P3
Telephone: 514 356-8888, ext. 2554
Fax: 514 354-8535
E-mail: [email protected]
www.fec.csq.qc.net
June 2013
Welcome!
Having experienced the same situation ourselves, we know that new teachers are often
thrown into the college world without having had the opportunity to explore the environment
beforehand. For many, it may also be a first experience as a unionized worker – another
world to discover.
The best way to get to know the ins and outs of your workplace is to ask questions and get
involved so that your participation in college life can be a plus for the whole community.
Your union and federation are excellent schools to better understand how the college system
works and how to improve it!
We believe that teaching is one of the finest professions in the world and can lead to personal fulfilment. To reach this goal it is much better to approach it positively, with a sound
knowledge of the underlying dynamics. May this be the case for you and we will be quite
pleased if this Guide1 can help in any way.
Feel free to contact your union for any additional information.
Cordially,
Catherine Paradis and Frances Dionne
New Member Welcome Coordinators
Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de cégep (FEC-CSQ)
June 2013
Additional guides or documents that may prove helpful:
• 2010-2015 FEC-CSQ Collective Agreement
• Guide à l’intention des enseignantes et enseignants précaires
(Guide for teachers with precarious status) June 2012
• Guide de détermination de l’échelon salarial 2010-2015
Calcul de l’expérience et de la scolarité
(2010-2015 Guide to determine salary step – Experience and schooling assessment)
January 2012
• Guide to Parental Rights and the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP)
2010-2015
• RREGOP Myths and Realities
Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
February 2012
1. Please note that only official documents (collective agreement, Labour Code, legislation) remain the actual references in terms of
teachers’ rights.
3
Table of Contents
Welcoming Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Your First Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Union and the FEC-CSQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Local Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Rand Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de cégep (CSQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Our Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Our Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Decision-Making Bodies and Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FEC Affiliated Unions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
6
7
7
8
8
Union Involvement: Why and How? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rules Governing Deliberative Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Summary Table of the Rules of Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Collective Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Negotiation of the Collective Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Information provided by the Collective Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Do you know about… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Individual Workload (CI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Courses and Teaching Load Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Professional Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Precarious Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Salary Scale: Fast Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Income security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Teachers Placed on Availability (MEDs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Parental Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Retirement Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
You Are Teaching in Continuing Education? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Right to Redress in Case of Dispute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
FEC-CSQ Organizational Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Expressions and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
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Your First Activities
Below are a few helpful hints that might initially appear to be of little importance, but that will help
you practice your profession in a fulfilling way:
1. Explore your new environment. Locate:
• the rooms you will be using;
• the photocopying machines (check whether you need an access card from the College to use them);
• the computers at your disposal (request your access codes and passwords);
• the printing service (find out about the copyright policy);
• the library.
2. Visit the Human Resources Department and “take good care of your
personal record”:
• Be sure to provide Human Resources with every required document respecting your schooling
and experience by the deadline. Your schooling documents are forwarded to the ministère de
l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (MESRST), which
evaluates them (6-3.00). If you disagree with the evaluation, contact your local union. If you
are continuing your studies, you must inform Human Resources upon completion of an additional
year of schooling (30 credits) in a program, so that your schooling and salary can be adjusted
accordingly. This new classification takes place once a year, between the fall and winter
semesters (i.e. at the end of the 13th pay period, in accordance with clause 6-1.05).
• Be sure that you are allocated a work space or an office to prepare your courses, meet with
students and store your material. If the College cannot provide you with a work space, invoke
clause 8-1.04 and request the related tax deduction forms.
3. Find out which activities are part of your teaching load:
• These are listed in 8-3.00 of the Collective Agreement. Pay particular attention to 8-3.01 a),
8-3.02 (collaborative activities pertaining to programs, pedagogical activities and weekly
availability), and 8-3.03 (mark compilation and submission).
4. Visit your union office:
• Go to the union office to become a member by signing your membership card.
• Visit your local union Website, as well as that of your Federation (www.fec.csq.qc.net).
• Explore your Collective Agreement (http://fec.csq.qc.net/fileadmin/FEC/documents/Convention_
et_droits/Collective_Agreement.pdf).
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The Union and the FEC-CSQ
The Local Union
The first place to go in order to find out about your rights and obligations is the local union. Local
union officers are teachers elected by their peers to make sure that the employer complies with the
Collective Agreement and to defend teachers’ interests as a whole. Although the College deducts
union dues from your pay, you are not automatically a member of the local union. The Rand Formula
requires the College to make these deductions and makes sure that you benefit from every advantage
provided in the Collective Agreement. However, to become a member of your union, you
must sign a membership card and pay a symbolic amount. If you are teaching in other
Colleges, you need to join each separate local union.
Becoming a member of your union enables you to take part in union activities (general assembly,
committees, etc.) and to express your opinion, either verbally or by voting. It also makes you eligible
to become a union officer2.
You may consult your union on various topics under many circumstances:
• to find out more about your rights;
• to find out how to react when convened
by the College administration;
• if the College administration wants to
conduct an administrative evaluation of
your work;
• to better understand how the College
functions;
• for explanations respecting various
aspects of your labour contract;
• to find out more about your union repre-
sentatives’ activities, etc.
In case of doubt, consulting your union
should become a reflex, a second nature.
This is the best way to make sure that you
make informed choices and avoid committing blunders that might prove difficult
to rectify.
2. Check your union’s Statutes and Bylaws.
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The Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de cégep (FEC-CSQ)
Your union is affiliated with the Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de CÉGEP (FEC-CSQ),
that gathers 13 teacher unions for a total of approximately 2600 members. The Federation is part
of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), made up of 11 federations with a total of 240 unions
and 193 000 members3. These affiliations allow your union to benefit from the services offered by
the Federation and the Centrale, to take part in their decisions and actions, and to participate in
defining their trends. You may consult the Federation’s Statutes and Bylaws: http://fec.csq.qc.net/
fileadmin/user_upload/FEC/statuts_reglements_ang.pdf.
Background
The Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de cégep (FEC-CSQ) came into being when cegeps
were created, in 1968. A number of unions then decided to join the Centrale de l’enseignement du
Québec (CEQ, now known as CSQ). Until then, they had been affiliated with the CSN (Confédération
des syndicats nationaux), that included the teachers of classical colleges and technical schools amalgamated together to form the new CEGEPs. The CEQ was still a corporation of elementary and high
school teachers. In spite of its official title, it had already pretty much adopted the features and the
role of a very active union organization within the feverish social movement of that era. It was actually during that period that the CSQ experienced its first Common Front with the FTQ (Fédération des
travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec – Quebec Federation of Labour) and the CSN (Confédération
des syndicats nationaux – Confederation of National Trade Unions), the strike involving all
300,000 public sector employees, which was brought to an end by special legislation, and the jailing its president, along with those of the CSN and the FTQ, and the publication of its famous manifesto, L’école au service de la classe dominante (The School System Serves the Ruling Class), adopted
by the 1972 Congress. The CEQ officially became a central labour body in 1974. From the first few
years of its existence, the FEC has occupied a place far outweighing its numbers within this ­movement,
and has been at the forefront of all those struggles.
Our Mission
Since its creation 40 years ago, the FEC has given itself the mission to study, defend and develop
the economic, intellectual, social, and professional interests of its members. Towards this objective,
a number of decision-making bodies fostering debate and participative democracy have been
implemented.
The FEC’s decision-making bodies have also created several open committees that can be joined
by members of each affiliated union. These committees advise the governing bodies on issues of
particular interest to members, such as teaching, education, women’s status and job insecurity.
3. To find out more about the CSQ, visit www.csq.qc.net.
7
Our Team
The Executive Board is made up of six members elected by the Congress. The president has full
release time from teaching and the other members have partial release time to carry out their specific
functions. The role of the Executive Board is to see to the Federation’s day-to-day business, carry out
the mandates it has been given, convene the decision-making bodies and make recommendations,
propose a budget and a yearly work plan, hire and manage employees, and administer the assets
of the Federation. The Executive Board meets on average every three weeks. Executive Board ­meetings
may be held more frequently at certain times such as during negotiations. In accordance with the
CSQ Statutes and Bylaws, the President of the Federation sits on CSQ’s Intersectoral Council (Conseil
intersectoriel – CI) and Intersectoral Negotiations Council (Conseil intersectoriel de négociation de la
CSQ – CIN).
The Executive Board may include other elected members, namely a person in charge of the Advisory
Committee on Teaching Workloads (see clause 8-4.11 of the Collective Agreement), and a coordinator of the Status of Women Committee.
The Federation can also rely on the support of a political advisor/communications officer, a technical
advisor, as well as the administrative support of two secretaries.
Decision-Making Bodies and Committees
The Congress (Congrès) gathers some 140 delegates within delegations comprised of 6 to 14 representatives, according to the membership of each respective union. Each delegate has a right to vote.
The Congress elects Executive Board members, adopts the Statutes and Bylaws, as well as FEC’s
broad guidelines. It meets every 3 years.
The General Council (Conseil général) gathers some 45 delegates within delegations comprised of 3 to
7 members. It is the supreme decision-making body for all aspects of the negotiation of the Collective
agreement: set of demands, compromises to be tabled, pressure tactics, adoption of the agreement
in principle, and authorization to sign the Collective Agreement. In addition to its powers respecting
negotiations, the FEC’s General Council is also the supreme decision-making body between congresses.
In this capacity, it ensures compliance with guidelines adopted by the Congress, adopts the annual
work plan and budget, appoints committee members, receives their reports and recommendations,
in addition to making all decisions it deems necessary for the well-being of the Federation. It meets
at least 4 times a year. During negotiation periods, it meets much more frequently.
The Federal Council (Conseil fédéral) is comprised of the President, another member of the Federation’s
Executive Board, and one representative from each union. The latter must not be a member of the
Federation’s Executive Board. This decision-making body ensures coordination among unions, as well
as between unions and the Federation. It also sees to the implementation of the General Council’s
decision. It is this decision-making body that sits on the CSQ’s General Negotiation Council (Conseil
général de négociation) when the time comes to make decisions respecting the central bargaining
table. It is a very flexible decision-making body that may meet at any time, as requested by the
Executive Board, the President alone or 3 unions. It may convene and make recommendations to
the General Council at any time.
8
Other than joint committees provided for in the Collective Agreement, the FEC’s General Council has
implemented committees mandated to make recommendations on various issues.
The Negotiating Committee (Comité de négociation), comprised of 3 or 4 members elected by the
General Council and chosen among members at the time of the preparation of the bargaining process,
is in charge of preparing the set of demands and negotiating the Collective Agreement in compliance
with mandates received from the General Council. It must make sure that members are informed regularly and prepare general assembly consultations on all issues related to the bargaining process.
The Committee for Information, Training on and Implementation of the Collective Agreement ( Comité
d’information, de formation et d’application de la convention collective – CIFAC) gathers delegates
from each union with the mandate to interpret and implement the Collective Agreement, train union
delegates and make any recommendation to the General Council regarding the implementation of
the Collective Agreement.
The Status of Women Committee (Comité de la condition des femmes –CCF), is comprised of one
woman teacher from each FEC affiliated union, appointed or elected by her respective union in
accordance with internal procedures, in addition to the woman teacher elected by the General
Council to coordinate the Committee, and the woman member of FEC’s Executive Board bearing the
political responsibility for the file.
The Vigilance Committee (Comité de vigilance), as its name
indicates, watches over government policies related to education and decisions made by other groups respecting college
teaching. It provides the decision-making bodies with recommendations in these areas. It is comprised of two representatives per union and one Executive Board member.
The General Council may also create ad hoc committees to
analyse specific questions and provide recommendations on
such issues.
As a member, you may take part in the activities of the decision-making bodies and committees of the FEC and the CSQ:
General Council, Congress, networks, training and awareness sessions… Contact your union for further information!
Publications
Providing members and unions with information is a daily concern for the FEC. All communication
technologies are called upon. Such means enable the Federation to inform its members in addition
to regularly fostering consultation and decision making by FEC unions.
In addition to its Website, the FEC publishes L’Enjeu express, presenting specific issues dealt with by
the Federation, and forwards the FEC Newsletter via e-mail (subscribe here: http://fec.csq.qc.net/
accueil/index.html). Along with the CSQ, the Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges
9
– FPPC (Federation of Professional College Employees) and the Fédération du personnel de soutien
de l’enseignement supérieur – FPSES (Federation of Higher Education Support Staff), the FEC also
publishes CSQ/Colleges twice a year. Finally, the CSQ also has a regular publication, CSQ News.
FEC Affiliated Unions
• Bois-de-Boulogne: SEEBB
• Matane (CMEC): SEECM
• Champlain College – Lennoxville: SECCL
• Rimouski (CMEC): SEECR
• Drummondville: SEECD
• Rivière-du-Loup: SEECRDL
• Gaspé: SPECGIG
• Sainte-Foy: SPCSF
• Gérald-Godin: SPCGG
• Sorel-Tracy: SEECST
• Magdalen Islands: SEECI
• Victoriaville: SEECV
• Quebec Maritime Institute: SPPEMQ
10
Rules Governing Deliberative Assemblies
There are several codes that determine the rules governing a deliberative assembly, such as the
Therrien Rules of Order and the Morin Rules of Order. It is up to the union to adopt one. The Statutes
and Bylaws of the union (or those of the Federation, for federal decision-making bodies), specify how
decisions are to be made (simple majority, two thirds majority, etc.). The FEC uses the Morin Rules
of Order.
The meeting agenda always includes a number of statutory items, such as the reading and adoption of the agenda, the welcoming of new members, and the adoption of the minutes of the previous
meeting.
For a regular meeting, members may propose amendments to the agenda. All motions require
a seconder and may be discussed briefly. When the notice of meeting specifies that the meeting is a
special meeting, the agenda can by no means be amended.
Members may note mistakes or omissions in the minutes. The adoption of the minutes requires a
duly seconded motion made by members having attended the said meeting. Generally, statutory
items are not matters for debate.
A meeting agenda normally contains two other types of items: information items and decision items
(i.e. items requiring a decision by the Assembly).
Information items involve presentations by individuals respecting topics on the agenda, but do
not require a decision by the Assembly. The individual’s presentation may be followed by a question
and clarification period and, more rarely, comments.
Decision items involve a decision-making process on issues of concern to the Assembly. The decisions are presented as duly seconded motions, amendments or sub-amendments, that are then
debated and finally voted upon.
Generally*, in the course of an assembly, a proposal (or group of proposals) is submitted to the
­following procedure:
1. Topic presentation: first of all, every item on the agenda is presented;
2. Plenary committee of clarification: allows for questions and ensures a thorough understanding of
the topic;
3. Plenary committee of exchange: allows members to express their doubts, agreement or disagreement, to debate, to form an opinion, and to set out conditions that would enable them to support
the motion;
*B
ased on the type of assembly and the number of participants, a certain amount of flexibility may be applied to these rules.
Two, several, or all of these steps may be combined.
11
4. Plenary committee of motion announcements: allows members to present motions, amendments
and sub-amendments to the Assembly;
5. Deliberative process: at this stage of the debate, members express their intention to vote for or
against the motion;
6.Vote: finally, the Assembly expresses its position by voting.
Summary Table of the Rules of Procedure
WHAT?
WHY?
HOW?
To make a decision on the issue being
discussed by the Assembly.
•
To modify a proposal by adding
or deleting an element.
•
Sub-amendment
To modify an amendment by adding
or deleting an element.
•
Motion to lay on the
table
To end the discussion and prevent
a decision.
•
Motion to postpone
to a certain time.
To end the discussion and postpone
the decision until a given time.
•
Motion to refer
To end the discussion and refer the issue
to another decision-making body for
consideration purposes or to put off the
decision.
•
Motion to call for
the question (motion
to vote)
To end discussions and vote immediately.
•
Separate votes
To divide a motion in more than one part
in order to vote separately on each one.
Main motion
Amendment
Requires a seconder
May be amended
• Debate
• Majority vote
•
Requires a seconder
May be sub-amended
• Debate
• Majority vote
•
Requires a seconder
• Cannot be amended
• Debate
• Majority vote
Requires a seconder
Cannot be amended
• Debate on the relevance of the motion
to lay on the table
• Majority vote
•
Requires a seconder
May be amended and discussed as far
as the date is concerned
• Majority vote
•
Requires a seconder
May be amended
• Debate on the relevance of the motion
to refer
• Majority vote
•
Does not require a seconder
Cannot be amended
• No debate
• Two-thirds vote
•
Does not require a seconder
No debate
• Granted automatically
•
•
>>
12
Summary Table of the Rules of Procedure (continued)
WHAT?
WHY?
HOW?
To revisit a decision already made
by the Assembly.
•
To temporarily suspend the rules of
procedure.
•
Motion to adjourn
To interrupt a meeting and determine
a time to resume or for side meetings.
•
Point of privilege
To rectify any prejudice caused to a
person’s right or any issue respecting the
material organization of the Assembly.
•
To point out to the Chair that there has
been a breach of the rules or a mistake
in the procedure (including a request
to verify the quorum).
•
To object to the Chair’s decision.
•
Motion to reconsider
Suspension of rules
Point of order
Motion to appeal
the decision of the
Chair
Requires a seconder
Debate on the relevance of
areconsideration
• Two-thirds vote
•
Requires a seconder
Cannot be amended
• No debate
• Two-thirds vote
•
Requires a seconder
• May be amended and debated only
with regards to the time and date
for resuming the meeting
• Decision of the Chair or majority vote
Does not require a seconder
No debate
• May interrupt a speaker
• Decision of the Chair
• Right to appeal
•
Does not require a seconder
Cannot be amended
• No debate
• May interrupt a speaker
• Decision of the Chair
• Right to appeal
•
Requires a seconder
Cannot be amended
• No debate
• Only two explanations (Chair goes first)
• Majority vote
•
Other Considerations
The quorum is the minimum number of attending members required for the Assembly to be valid
and legal. If the quorum is not reached, the Assembly must not be held. The quorum is established
in the Statutes and Bylaws of the Union (or of the Federation, for federal decision-making bodies).
The Chairperson makes sure that the Assembly runs smoothly. Normally, the Assembly is not chaired
by the President of the union. The role of the Chair is to enable the Assembly to debate democratically and, as required, to make decisions respecting procedural questions within the time limits of the
Assembly. The Chairperson does not take part in the debates.
13
A recording secretary is appointed. The recording secretary records the essentials of the expressed
opinions, the motions, the names of proposers and seconders, the results of the votes and all other
elements deemed necessary to make sure that the organization has a clear record of the debates
and the decisions.
If you are not sure of the correct procedure under a given set of circumstances, for instance,
the right time to present a motion, it is always possible to speak to the Chair, explain what you wish
to do and ask for guidance. The Chair may then suggest how to proceed or explain that your request
cannot be met within the bounds of the rules of order, or of the organization’s Statutes and Bylaws.
If you disagree with a procedural decision made by the Chairperson, you may appeal
the decision of the Chair. You will have two minutes to explain why you disagree. The Chair may
accept your point of view and rectify the procedure. Otherwise, the Chair also has two minutes to
explain the reasons for his/her decision, after which it is up to the Assembly to decide.
You may also point out a concern that prevents you from fully focusing on the debates
(physical discomfort — too hot, too cold, poor sound quality, etc. — or psychological discomfort —
aggressive tone, personal attacks, etc.) at any time by raising a point of privilege.
14
The Collective Agreement
The Collective Agreement is the labour contract binding the employees to their employers. As t­eachers,
we have two employers: the College and the government. The present Collective Agreement is the
result of a long evolution.
In the 1960s, when our current education ­system
was implemented, teachers’ working conditions
were quite different from ours. Their working
conditions were actually quite deplorable: very
low salaries, little or no protection against
employer arbitrariness, lack of national standards guaranteeing consistent working conditions, etc.
Major union struggles, in the 1960s and 1970s,
have led to an improvement of these working
conditions. They have yielded decent salaries,
the implementation of a job security system, the
national definition of working conditions, and
fringe benefits (insurance, vacation, job security, parental rights, etc.)
The Negotiation of the Collective Agreement
A negotiation process is essentially a process of discussing proposals in order to reach an agreement.
In this specific case, the employees and their employers negotiate in order to define the employees’
labour contract. The Collective Agreement is therefore an agreement concluded between the ­employees
and their employers in accordance with the Act respecting the process of negotiation of the collective
agreements in the public and parapublic sectors (commonly known as Bill 37).
What is negotiated (therefore, what is part of our Collective Agreement):
• Intersectoral matters, namely those common to all workers of the education, health and social
services sectors: salaries, parental rights, and the retirement plan;
• Sectoral matters, i.e. those specific to cegep teachers (our national demands): work organiza-
tion, the workload and its distribution, hiring and tenure procedures, job security, professional
development, leave, etc.
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• A number of matters require a certain amount of coordination, for instance, among cegep employees
(support workers, professionals and teachers), for instance, psychological harassment and violence
in the work place, employment equality, non-discrimination.
No local agreement is concluded during the Collective Agreement bargaining process, but the
Agreement does provide for a number of matters that may be negotiated locally once the Collective
Agreement is signed (Section 59 of Bill 37).
Those Who Negotiate
The employees (labour) are represented by the Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants
de Cégep (FEC-CSQ) for sectorial matters and by the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) for
intersectorial matters.
The employer (management) is represented by the Comité patronal de négociation des collèges
(CPNC)4 for sectorial matters. As for intersectorial matters, the Treasury Board and the Council of
Ministers are the sources for the mandates of the CPNC, while the Treasury Board bears the responsibility for all financial matters. Our employer, the government, has the power to legislate our working
conditions, which has been done on several occasions since the 1970s, most notably during the
1982 negotiations that ended in a decree imposing our working conditions. In 2005, intersectorial
negotiations and a number of sectorial matters were also settled by decree.
The Bargaining Process
Negotiations may go on for several months if not for more than a year. First, federations and the
union centrals have to collect and interpret data, in addition to analyzing the social, economic and
political framework. Afterwards, they consult their membership on bargaining strategies and demands.
Union organisations must also set priorities. They may then prepare and table their set of demands.
The employer’s “offers” (which are actually demands, most of the time), must be sent to the union
organisations 60 days following the tabling of the union demands.
Then begins the work at the negotiation tables, where the parties discuss and deal with the various
matters in order to identify areas of agreement. It is generally at that moment that positions become
less flexible and each party attempts to better the other. The employer tries to achieve potential
efficiencies by limiting our gains and clawing back on our acquired rights (job security, work organization, workload calculation, etc.) while our union representatives work to maintain our acquired
rights and improve our working conditions. Then comes the time for mobilization: we need to d
­ emonstrate
our determination and build alliances with other organizations sharing our convictions.
4. This committee includes representatives from the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche, de la Science et de la
­Technologie (MESRST) and representatives from the Fédération des Cégeps, namely Directors General and Governing Board Chairs
of the 48 colleges.
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When the parties reach an agreement, the content is written up in the form of a Collective Agreement.
Lastly, a union assessment is prepared with the members and the decision-making bodies in order to
identify the strengths and weaknesses of the process and adopt proposals for the negotiations to come.
The Negotiation file of the Collective Agreement section contains the assessment of the last
negotiations and historical benchmarks respecting the FEC’s negotiation processes (1967-2007):
http://fec.csq.qc.net/convention-et-droits/negociation/index.html.
Information Contained in the Collective Agreement
Your labour contract has more than 300 pages! The Collective Agreement presents your rights
and responsibilities in a very detailed manner. It namely includes:
• definitions for a number of terms (teaching year, spouse, dependent child, working days…) and
employment statuses (regular professor, hourly paid professor, full-time professor, part-time
­professor…), etc. (Chapter 1);
• the jurisdiction related to the scope of application of the Collective Agreement, non-discrimination,
equal access to employment, violence and psychological harassment, and sexual harassment
(Chapter 2);
• union prerogatives as related to union activities, the right to hold meetings, and union dues
(Chapter 3);
• all details respecting:
–– work organization (Chapter 4): program committee and department, selection of regular
­professors, etc.,
–– employment and fringe benefits (Chapter 5): hiring, tenure, seniority, job security, insurance,
parental rights, leave, occupational health and security, etc.,
–– remuneration (Chapter 6): salary, calculation of work experience, evaluation of years of school-
ing, salary scales and hourly rates, travel expenses, etc.,
–– professional development (Chapter 7),
–– the teaching load and its distribution (Chapter 8): vacation, teaching load, calculation of a
professor’s workload, (CI), continuing education, summer courses, availability, etc.;
• procedures for settling grievances and arbitration (chapitre 9);
• appendices: salary scales, salary structure and salary scales, agreements specific to certain ­colleges,
forms and examples of various documents, etc.
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Do you know about…
The Individual Workload (CI)
It includes the courses you give expressed as a percentage of a full-time equivalent (FTE). The individual workload (CI) may include courses and release time for union activities, coordination activities,
tasks related to the development, to the implementation or to the evaluation of a study program,
professional development, retraining, workplace internships, institutional research and development
linked to regular teaching, or to specific activities related to student assistance.
The CI is determined by the application of a formula that defines a professor’s workload for a given
semester. This formula ensures equivalent workloads between subjects. In essence, the CI is determined
by weighting the values of the following factors: the number of class periods for a one-week period
(HC), the hours related to preparing different courses (HP), and the number of students registered per
class period per week (PES).
Appendix VIII-1 of the Collective Agreement includes the detailed formula to calculate the CI per
semester. In general, a full-time teaching load will be between 40 and 44 units of CI per semester
(although a college may impose a workload of up to 55 units for a given semester). A full-time equivalent (1 FTE) equals an individual workload of 80 to 88 on an annual basis (2 semesters). Remember
that one FTE equals one year of seniority and that it is not possible to accumulate more than
one (1) year in any contract year. If your CI exceeds 88 units, the additional workload will be paid
based on the applicable hourly rate, in compliance with article 6-5.00 of Appendix VI-1.
Courses and Teaching Load Distribution
Workload (course) distribution among the department’s teachers is done in an equitable
­manner, in accordance with internal procedures adopted by all department members. Their adoption
is carried out publically within the department.
A course is not private property. It is public property under the responsibility of the department
and approved by the Academic Dean’s Office. Consequently, common documents related to a given
course, namely the course outline, may be consulted and used as long as their source is mentioned.
However, a teacher does not have to make personal notes, exercises and exams that she or he has
prepared available to colleagues (8-1.03).
All members of a department have equal rights, namely access to professional development
activities. The internal rules of procedure as defined by the department apply to all its members.
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Professional Integration
During their first two semesters of teaching in the College, a teacher is granted time for her or his
professional integration and participation to pedagogical activities mentioned in paragraph d)
of clause 8-3.02 (Recognition of time worked – see paragraph f).
The department coordinator must namely make sure that teachers experiencing difficulties are provided with appropriate assistance (4-1.12).
Precarious Status
In the college sector, teachers are said to have a “precarious status” if they are not covered by
­complete job security, in other words, if they are non-tenured. For some, this precarious status will
be a relatively brief episode in their career. For others, it may become a rather permanent situation
or, at the very least, last for quite a long time.
Regardless of your teaching status – regular teaching, continuing education, full time, part time or on
an hourly wage basis, it is important for you to know your rights. The Guide à l’intention des
enseignantes et des enseignants précaires (Guide for teachers with precarious status)
­produced by the FEC-CSQ contains a synopsis of those rights:
http://fec.csq.qc.net/fileadmin/FEC/documents/Convention_et_droits/Guide_des_pr%C3%A9caires_
21_juin_ISBN_1.pdf
Salary Scale: Fast Tracking
In accordance with clause 6-1.01, the rule for normal progression is that one salary step equals one
year of experience (namely 1 FTE for a teacher). However, since 2010-2011, a teacher whose experience and schooling establish the salary on either one of the first four steps, is eligible for fast tracking.
A step then equals half a year (0.5 year) of experience (or 0.5 FTE).
The Guide de détermination de l’échelon salarial 2010-2015 (2010-2015 Guide to determine salary step) produced by the FEC-CSQ will enable you to understand and apply the various
changes properly:
http://fec.csq.qc.net/fileadmin/FEC/documents/Convention_et_droits/Guide_de_d%C3%A9termination_
de_l_%C3%A9chelon_salarial.pdf
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Income Security (article 5-4.22)
A regular professor who has assumed a teaching load of at least 0.5 FTE in the regular teaching
program for at least five (5) consecutive years and who does not receive, the following year, a teaching load of at least 0.5 FTE shall receive fifty per cent (50%) of his/her yearly salary for up to three
years. Read the full article, from A) to G) to know all the details.
Teachers Placed on Availability (MEDs, article 5-4.00)
Placing professors on availability is a job security measure for tenured teachers. It generally results
from a surplus of tenured teachers versus the number of positions in a subject (owing to a reduction
in student enrolment, for instance), or from a decision to change or close a study program. The tenured
teacher who has less seniority is then placed on availability (MED). A teacher placed on availability
may be relocated in another subject, if she or he meets the requirements, or in another college.
Teachers thus relocated maintain their seniority, which impacts those with less seniority in her or his
new department.
Insurance
Section 5-5.00 of the Collective Agreement determines eligibility to life, health and salary
­insurance plans.
The College must offer all insurance plans provided for in the current Collective Agreement to every
teacher. Visit the FEC-CSQ Website to find out about your coverage:
http://fec.csq.qc.net/convention-et-droits/assurances-collectives/index.html.
The health insurance plan is mandatory for all eligible teachers. A teacher already covered by her
or his spouse’s plan must provide documents attesting of such coverage in order to be exempted.
Hourly paid professors are not covered by death, health or disability insurance.
For car and home insurance, the CSQ, in partnership with La Personnelle, offers preferential
rates to its members, as well as customized coverage and services (les Protections RésAut CSQ). Your
spouse and dependents may also benefit from the same advantages.
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Parental Rights
For all forms of leave related to parental rights, consult with your union representatives, who have a
Guide to Parental Rights and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), written for FEC members.
The Guide contains specific information respecting maternity, paternity, and adoption leave, as well
as other special forms of leave of absence. It also includes information on the Quebec Parental
Insurance Plan (QPIP).
http://fec.csq.qc.net/fileadmin/FEC/documents/Convention_et_droits/Parentals_Rights.pdf
Retirement Plan
Your pension plan is the Régime de retraite des employés du gouvernement et des organismes publics (RREGOP). http://fec.csq.qc.net/convention-et-droits/regime-de-retraite/index.html
For information on your pension plan, consult with your union representatives. Each case is different.
Several unions also offer retirement planning workshops.
21
You Are Teaching
in Continuing Education?
You are entitled to the same level of union attention as any other teacher of the college. To take part
in your union’s decision-making process, you must become a member by signing a membership card
and paying the minimal amount stated in the Statutes and Bylaws of your union, in compliance with
the Labour Code.
Article 8-6.00 of the Collective Agreement deals with working conditions specific to Continuing
Education. It states that, unless otherwise specified, the entire Collective Agreement applies to
Continuing Education. In Continuing Education as well as in Regular Education, only those teaching
“courses published in the College Education Syllabus, courses leading to a Diploma of College Studies
(DCS) or to an Attestation of College Studies (ACS), courses included in modules approved by the
Minister or upgrading activities bearing a number of credits determined by the Minister” (1-2.13) are
covered by the Collective Agreement. In other words, customized training is excluded from the scope
of application of the Collective Agreement5. Continuing Education teachers have the same rights to
appeal provided for in the Collective Agreement or under various laws as do regular professors.
In general, Continuing Education teachers are hourly paid professors. There are certain exceptions
whereby they have the status of full-time or part-time teachers owing to specific allocations provided
for in Appendix VIII-4 of the Agreement.
Working conditions specified in the Collective Agreement
that do not apply to Continuing Education Professors
Normally, the entire collective agreement applies to Continuing Education teachers. Unfortunately,
this rule is subject to many important exceptions. Below are the main ones:
Continuing Education teachers cannot be members of the department (4-1.00), and their application
is not systematically assessed by a selection committee as set out in the Collective Agreement (4-4.00).
In addition, as Continuing Education teachers are not included in the allocation of resources granted
by the Ministry (8-4.00), they do not have access to any position or tenure (5-4.00), nor do they have
access to the placement office (5-4.08 and 09), relocation, recycling, being placed on availability,
and therefore, they have no job security as such, and consequently, no income security (5-4.22).
However, pension plan participation is mandatory for all teachers, including hourly paid professors.
5. A number of exceptions apply to Victoriaville and Sainte-Foy.
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Professional development leave, the professional development fund, and the reimbursement of cost
related to professional development (7-0.00) do not apply to Continuing Education professors. Fulltime and part-time positions available in Continued Education are extremely scarce, as are the rights
related to such positions. Also, there is no access to any form of leave. Finally, the College does not
have to consult the union before hiring Continuing Education professors, or before cancelling, transferring or making substantial changes to courses or programs in Continuing Education (8-6.08).
Hourly paid professors have no access to any form of insurance provided for by the Collective
Agreement or to the SSQ group insurance. Therefore, they are entitled to no benefits in case of ­illness,
accident, or death. During a period of disability, however, a Continuing Education teacher may
exercise his or her priority and the workload to which she or he is entitled, is set aside until the
professor returns (5-4.16 b). Consult your union delegate if you are in such a situation.
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Right to Redress in Case of Dispute
If you believe that your rights have not been respected, if you consider that you are being required
to do more work than is specified for your workload, etc., your first step should be to contact your
union representatives, who will study your situation and advise you as to steps to be taken. If no
agreement can be reached between you and the local employer, certain disagreements may be
submitted to arbitration by filing a grievance. You may also ask to be accompanied by a member of
your union’s Executive Board when you are convened by the administration.
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FEC-CSQ Organizational Chart
Local decision-making bodies and committees
FEDERAL DECISION-MAKING BODIES
MEMBERS ELECTED BY THE GENERAL COUNCIL TO FILL A NUMBER OF FUNCTIONS AT THE FEC
FEDERAL WORK COMMITTEES
Note: Other committees may be set up on an ad hoc basis.
For bargaining periods, a negotiation committee is created at FEC-CSQ, while at CSQ, bargaining is under the
­responsibility of the National Negotiation Coordination. The General Council is responsible for negotiation and meetings
of the General Council for Negotiations are held at the CSQ.
25
BRIEF GLOSSARY FOR THE FEC-CSQ
Union Structures
General Assembly
Gathers all union members in good standing. It is the local decision-making
body.
Executive Board
Executive Council
Union Coordinating
Committee
Work team comprised of elected union members who have various release
periods to deal with the day-to-day business of the union and to carry out
the mandates as provided for in the Statutes and Bylaws.
Statutes and Bylaws
Rules of procedure for the union, the General Assembly, and meetings.
They namely set out the functions of the Executive Board and its members.
FEC-CSQ
CSQ-affiliated federation of cegep teachers, comprised of the following
unions: Bois-de-Boulogne, Champlain-Lennoxville, Drummondville, Gaspé,
Gérald‑Godin, Magdalen Islands, Quebec Maritime Institute, Matane,
Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Sainte-Foy, Sorel-Tracy, and Victoriaville.
CG-FEC (GC-FEC)
General Council of the FEC. Decision-making body gathering delegates
from each FEC union, in proportion to its membership.
CF-FEC (FC-FEC)
Federal Council of the FEC. Smaller decision-making body (one representative
per union and the president + another representative of the Executive Board
of the FEC)
BE-FEC (EB-FEC)
Executive Board of the FEC (six members elected by the Congress).
Sees to FEC’s day-to-day business and carries out FEC mandates
CSQ
Centrale des syndicats du Québec, comprised of 193,000 members,
240 unions and 11 federations.
CG-CSQ (GC-CSQ)
General Council of the CSQ, the decision-making body gathering delegates
from each of the affiliated unions.
GCN-CSQ (GCN-CSQ)
General Council for negotiations, the decision-making body that defines
the strategy and actions respecting intersectoral negotiations (salary,
pensions, parental rights, group insurance, work-family balance).
CIN-CSQ (ICN-CSQ)
Intersectoral Council for Negotiations, a governing body that meets on
a regular basis throughout the bargaining process. This Council is where
Collective Agreement negotiation is coordinated.
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Collective Agreement and Labour Relations
CI
The individual workload. A professor’s workload is calculated by means of a formula
found in the Collective Agreement with which all professors should become familiar.
The maximum yearly CI is 88 units that can be distributed unevenly between both
semesters, to a proportion of ¨5¦8 to 3¦8.
FTE
Full time equivalent. One FTE corresponds to one full-time teacher for a given year.
The human resources allocated to teaching are calculated in FTEs.
DC/PC
Department coordinator/Program coordinator. These two functions are specified
in the Collective Agreement (article 4-1.00).
Meetings between
the College and
the Union
Meetings gathering college administrators and official union representatives. For all
issues related to the interpretation and implementation of the Collective Agreement
or any question likely to maintain or improve labor relations, either the college or
the union may request a meeting with the other party.
CIFAC
The committee for information, training on and implementation of the Collective
Agreement. It includes delegates from each of the unions.
Grievance
A grievance may be individual, or it can involve a group, and even the union as a
whole. In every case, it relates to a dispute between the union and the administration
respecting Collective Agreement interpretation and implementation.
CPNC
Comité patronal de négociation des collèges. The employer group during negotiations,
the CPNC includes representatives from the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur,
de la Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie (MESRST) and representatives
of the Fédération des cégeps, the employer body that includes Directors General
and Governing Board Chairs of the 48 colleges.
Raiding
The period provided for by the labor Code for national union organisations (centrals
or federations) to convince one or more unions from another organization to join
them instead.
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For further information,
please visit our websites
fec.csq.qc.net
csq.qc.net
Telephone : (514)
356-8888, ext. 2554
1 800 465-0897
E-mail : [email protected]
Bois-de-Boulogne, ­Drummondville, Gaspé, G
­ érald-Godin, Îles-de-la-Madeleine,
IMQ, Lennoxville, Matane, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup, Sainte-Foy, Sorel-Tracy, Victoriaville
1213-66 D12460-4
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