Article 2 : general provisions

2.1.1 The bargaining unit includes all part-time academic staff employed by the Employer in the City of Ottawa, Stormont-Dundas, Renfrew North, Prescott and Lanark Counties.

2.1.2 Part-time academic staff is understood to mean all persons having full or joint full responsibility for one or more courses and who are:

• sessional lecturers with;
  • individual teaching loads;
  • multiple teaching loads under a single contract; or
  • teaching loads cumulated with other functions with the Employer under a single contract;
• part-time language teachers;
• part-time applied music teachers;
• clinical instructors in Nursing and in other units of the Faculty of Health Sciences;
• clinical instructors in Physiotherapy (subject to a separate letter of understanding between the parties);
• persons in essentially comparable positions as those listed above;
• full-time graduate students registered at the University of Ottawa.
• postdoctoral fellows registered at the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies who have teaching assignments.

2.1.3 EXCLUSIONS

The parties agree that the following are excluded from the Bargaining Unit:

• employees who exercise managerial functions or are employed in a confidential capacity in matters relating to labour relations between the Employer and the APTPUO;
• all persons who otherwise hold the academic rank of lecturer, assistant, associate or full professor or full-time language teacher at the University of Ottawa, including visiting professors and those who have been seconded to the University;
• all those engaged in the practice of medicine or psychology in the course of clinical teaching of medicine or psychology;
• (rescinded);
• all those involved in the teaching of non-credit courses, except
  • courses in the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute and QBA/PDP at the Faculty of Education which are required for the completion of a degree program;
  • on an exceptional basis and for historical reasons, all those employees having a contract for non-credit courses between the period of May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2011, in the QBA/PDP and OLBI will be deemed to be included in the bargaining unit for the purposes of the collective agreement;
  • in order to maintain his/her status as a bargaining unit member, the member will have to apply and receive a contract once per twenty-four (24) months or as per Article 5.8.5;
  • all courses offered to part-time professors by OLBI and QBA/PDP shall be posted as per Article 5.5.
• persons employed by the Employer whose regular job description includes teaching duties related to his or her other duties.

The parties further agree that the following positions are excluded because the incumbents exercise managerial functions or are employed in a confidential capacity in matters relating to labour relations with part-time academic staff:

• the President
• the Vice-Presidents
• the Associate Vice-Presidents
• the Vice-President, Governance
• the Deans
• the Administrative Officers of Academic Units or Faculties
• the Director of the Counselling and Personal Development Service
• the University Librarian
• members of the Board of Governors or Joint Committee
• the Research Officers of Institutional Research
• the Directors of Administrative and Academic Units.

The list shall be reviewed on October 30, February 28 and June 30 of every year, and the list shall be forwarded to the Association.

2.2.1 The general purpose of this Agreement is to establish an orderly collective bargaining relationship between the Employer and the members of APTPUO or between the Employer and the APTPUO, to ensure the peaceful settlement of disputes, and to set forth an agreement covering rates of pay and other working conditions which shall be exclusive and shall supersede all other agreements between the Employer and the employees represented by the Association.

2.2.2 The parties recognize that it is in their mutual interest to promote and to enhance the working relations between the Employer and the APTPUO and its members on the principles of mutual respect and cooperation and to foster a climate of freedom and responsibility appropriate for the promotion of excellence in the University.

2.2.3 The APTPUO agrees to collaborate with the Employer in promoting and supporting the bilingual nature of the University.

2.3.1 Subject to the particular provisions set out in section 2.3.2 and 2.4, the parties agree that no member of the bargaining unit shall be subjected to discrimination, interference, hindrance, restriction or harassment with regard to salary, employee benefits, appointment of any type within the University, leave, dismissal or layoff, disciplinary measures, any other term or condition of employment or student status (except as provided for in this Agreement) based on her/his age, race, beliefs, colour, citizenship or permanent resident status, national or ethnic origin, language, political or religious beliefs or affiliations, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family ties, a handicap or disability, a criminal record or a record of offences, her/his membership in the APTPUO and participation in its legal activities or membership in the bargaining unit, or her/his withdrawal from the APTPUO.

2.3.1 LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

2.4.1 The parties recognize that the Employer has a legal duty to accommodate members as defined especially in the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

2.4.2 Accommodation requests shall be initiated by the member and where this is the case, the Employer, the member, the Health and Wellness office and the Association (where requested by the member) will cooperate to find reasonable accommodation measures. The member must be informed of her/his right to Union representation.

2.4.3 Where a member's handicap interferes with the fulfilment of her workload duties, any related measures taken by the Employer which affect the member's working conditions and terms of employment shall be deemed non-discriminatory, it being understood that the Employer shall not take any such measures unless:

• they are required in light of the member's inability to meet satisfactorily the objective requirements of her/his employment; and
• the Employer has, previous to taking any such measures, taken all reasonable steps which could enable the handicapped member to continue performing her/his workload duties.

2.4.4 The Health and Wellness sector shall forward the accommodation request and the relevant details regarding the capabilities and limitations of the member. In consultation with the member, the Health and Wellness sector and the Association (where requested by the member), the Dean shall implement an accommodation plan as soon as possible.

The accommodation plan can be reviewed at any time to be adjusted and address the needs of the member or the Employer.

2.4.5 Subject to paragraph 2.4.6, the medical report of the member's treating physician, or registered mental health professional, shall be accepted as evidence of the disabling condition and need for accommodation.

2.4.6 The Employer, via the Health and Wellness Office may require that a member be examined by one or more physicians appointed by the Employer depending on the complexity of the medical condition. The Employer will provide the member with a list of three (3) qualified physicians for each speciality requiring an expertise in order for the member to select who will provide the medical report. The Employer will cover the cost of the medical examination and all other reasonable expenses incurred by the Employee for the needs of the medical examination.

2.4.7 It is understood that the parties will take every precaution to ensure the confidentiality of all accommodation requests and ensure the privacy of the concerned members.

2.4.8 For the purposes of this article, reference to ‘‘handicap” shall mean a reference to ‘‘physical or mental handicap, illness or incapacity, including addictive illness or alcoholism.”

2.5.1 The parties agree neither to infringe nor abridge the academic freedom of the members. Academic freedom is the right of reasonable exercise of civil liberties and responsibilities in an academic setting. As such it protects each member's freedom to disseminate her/his opinion both inside and outside the classroom, to practice her/his profession as teacher and scholar, to carry out such scholarly and teaching activities as she/he believes will contribute to and disseminate knowledge, to express and disseminate the results of her/his scholarly activities in a reasonable manner, and to select, acquire, disseminate and use documents in the exercise of her/his professional responsibilities, without interference from the Employer, its agents, or any outside bodies. All the above-mentioned activities are to be conducted with due and proper regard for the academic freedom of others and without contravening the provisions of this agreement. Academic freedom does not require neutrality on the part of the member, but rather makes commitment possible. However, academic freedom does not confer legal immunity, nor does it diminish the obligations of members to meet their duties and responsibilities.

2.5.2 The parties agree that no censorship based on moral, religious, or political values shall be exercised or allowed against any material which a member desires to be placed in the library collections of the University of Ottawa.

2.5.3 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 2.5.1 and 2.5.2 the Employer reserves the right to specify what textbooks are to be used in order to conform to published course descriptions, to match parallel sections of a course, to meet prerequisites required for other courses or to meet academic objectives of the academic unit.

2.6.1 In their actions affecting students, colleagues, or other scholars, as well as any employees of the Employer, members of the bargaining unit and representatives of the Employer shall observe commonly accepted norms of fairness and ethical behaviour.

2.6.2 SEXUAL HARASSMENT