by Rebecca Riley
On Sept. 24, it was announced that Carleton University will pay almost $400,000 to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 4600, which represents contract instructors and teaching assistants, as a result of miscalculating the Tuition Increase Assistance benefit (TIA) since 2013. The Leveller spoke with Kevin Partridge, a co-chief steward for CUPE 4600, to learn about this case and the state of workers’ rights at Carleton.
The Leveller: Why does Carleton owe TAs almost $400,000?
Kevin Partridge: CUPE 4600 and the administration were bargaining from August 2013 to February 2014 when we agreed on a new collective agreement. While we were in bargaining, both parties proposed changes to the Tuition Increase Assistance benefit (TIA) that was first negotiated in the early 2000s. The TIA is a benefit that is paid at the end of each semester and is designed to reimburse TAs for the increases in program tuition fees that take place every year. During bargaining, the administration refused to pay this benefit so we filed an unfair labour practice charge against them at which point they paid out some of the benefit. We did not realize at the time that they had altered their calculation of the benefit in such a way that many people were paid less than they should have been. When the new agreement was finalized, there was no change made to the language that governed the calculation of the TIA and both sides agreed to maintain the status quo for that benefit.
TL: Why did this issue go unnoticed?
KP: The issue went unnoticed for some time because:
1) The benefit is paid out in student accounts and not as part of the payroll, and it is not generally credited until the end of the semester.
2) The information that would have allowed TAs (or the union) to calculate the amount that was due to them was not generally available. CUPE 4600 spent several weeks trying to find the information about tuition fees that was needed for the calculation and eventually found that data within reports to the Carleton Board of Governors. (although we now believe that those reported tuition fees may not be completely accurate). We then sent out instructions to our members of how to calculate their own TIA (Those are available on our website: http://4600.cupe.ca/tuition-rebate-info/).
3) A few people did notice that there were mistakes being made but it was not clear that this was a change in policy that affected all TAs or if it was mistakes with payments to a few individuals. When these individuals asked the administration to clarify, they were simply told that it was done correctly and their more specific questions were not answered. We did file two grievances shortly after bargaining was completed but withdrew them because of this confusion and problems with the timing of the grievance.
TL: How many Carleton TAs does this issue affect?
KP: This will affect most of our members as the agreement to pay the TIA extends to the previous year and also ahead to this current year and into the subsequent year. We anticipate that thousands of TAs will receive some additional compensation.
TL: When was the issue first brought up with the university? And how did the university respond in attempting to fix it?
KP: The issue was first brought up with the administration while we were bargaining by a few of our members as noted above. The administration did not attempt to fix the problem but either did not respond or denied that there was a problem. It was not until we went to arbitration that the administration told us what they had done to change the calculation of the TIA and began to address the issue. Both sides agreed to a compromise solution that would exempt the administration from reimbursing TAs who had their TIA miscalculated previous to September 2014 but would ensure that the TIA was calculated correctly going forward until December of 2016. We expect that this benefit will be the subject of bargaining in the next round of negotiations (our current CA expires in August 2016).
TL: By when can TAs expect to be paid?
KP: TAs can expect to be paid for past due amounts by Dec. 15. We are encouraging everyone who was a TA last year to check their student accounts at that time as well as to calculate any amount that should be paid to them.
TL: Is there reason to believe that the university will not make similar mistakes regarding the payment of TAs again?
KP: The administration has made enormous errors in the past in the calculation of the TIA specifically that resulted in over 400 individual grievances being filed in 2012. They have recently also increased tuition for some students by amounts that exceed the limits set forth by the provincial government. The administration has created an incredibly complex system of tuition fees that charges first year students much higher tuition than students in the upper years of their programs although this does not seem to be applied consistently. This is in addition to the TIA issue. We would not necessarily anticipate similar mistakes but would not be surprised if new mistakes are made.
TL: Is there anything else you would like to add?
KP: This was a long process that took a great deal of work by a large number of our membership. The administration has made it clear that they do not want to see TAs have ‘money in their pockets’ after their tuition and fees are paid and we anticipate a difficult fight to preserve the ability for TAs to both pay their tuition and have any money left over to contribute to their living expenses. The portion of TA wages left over after paying university fees has consistently gone down to the point that a TAship barely covers the cost of tuition and mandatory fees. As a union within the post secondary sector, we believe that access to education is one of the primary political causes for which we advocate alongside protecting the rights of our members as workers.
This article first appeared in The Leveller Vol.8, No.2 (October 2015).
