News
Read the latest news in BC post-secondary education.
Feeling stressed? You’re not alone
Workplace stress comes in many forms, has many effects and, ultimately, can prove to be damaging not just for the worker who experiences the stress, but also the workplace where the stress is generated. It was with that in mind the our Federation, in conjunction with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), developed a…
March 8, 2010: Solidarity for Women
Solidarity has always been an integral part of the labour movement. It is a recognition by all that we share a common struggle and a common history. But our solidarity often extends far beyond those in unions. The labour movement has a long history of extending solidarity to the broader community where the fight for…
BC Budget 2010: Missing in action — vision, credibility and fairness
BC’s Finance Minster Colin Hansen has to be more than a little nervous these days. With his credibility in disarray following a 2009 budget that completely missed the obvious economic implosion that was rolling across North America and a September 2009 “Update” designed to finally concede what he tried to deny seven months earlier, his…
2010 BC Budget: Funding fails to fill growing gap
VICTORIA: “Instead of building a legacy, this budget fails to address a growing problem in post-secondary education in BC,” said Cindy Oliver, President of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators. “Operating grants for BC’s public post-secondary education institutions remain effectively unchanged as a result of this budget, despite the fact that BC urgently needs to increase…
FPSE President Appointed to Canada Industrial Relations Board
The Federal Minister of Labour announced three new appointments to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), the quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for the interpretation and administration of Part I and Part II of the Canada Labour Code. Cindy Oliver, President of FPSE was appointed as the part-time Member representing Employees. In making the announcement, the Minister…
Coalition of health and environment groups supports BC ban on lawn and garden chemicals
Coalition calls on province to “go for gold” with proposed cosmetic pesticide ban January 14, 2010 (Vancouver) – An unprecedented coalition of 18 health and environment organizations is urging the BC government to “go for gold” and pass leading-edge legislation to ban the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides. The coalition also released a five-point…
Organizing strategy is working: latest certification confirms strong support for union drive
Two years ago, FPSE made a major commitment to fund, staff and resource a broadly based effort to unionize private post-secondary institutions in our province. The commitment was part of a broader recognition within FPSE that instructors working at private institutions needed our help. Their salary levels were inadequate. There were little if any additional…
Fair Employment Week: Standing together and standing strong
October 26 marks the beginning of Fair Employment Week when post-secondary educators across Canada and the United States speak out on the problems facing contingent academic staff. The problems are real and continue to grow. About one third of FPSE members are non-regular faculty. Across Canada the number is closer to 40 percent. In the…
Dialogue with government: It’s time they listened more
Every year Presidents’ Council devotes a full day session to meeting with MLAs in Victoria. Our objective is to give both opposition and government MLAs a firsthand report on how our public post-secondary system is doing. Over the last eight years, it hasn’t always been easy meeting with government-side MLAs and Cabinet Ministers. Openness and…