Did you know that Unit 2 tutors now have the same workload protections as Unit 1?
The purpose of workload protections is to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to prevent overwork. These include specifying the number of hours per tutor contract, ensuring tutors and supervisors work together to find solutions to overwork, and compensating members if overwork cannot be avoided.
Here’s how the workload policy works:
- The workload limit applies to all Type 2 appointments, which includes tutorial leaders (T1 appointments), lab demonstrators (T2s), studio instructors, and visual arts tutors (T6s). The maximum hours for each Type 2 appointment are 135, though it might be easiest to think of your workload limit in increments of 67.5 hours. For example:
- A one-hour tutorial for one term (0.5 positions) = 67.5 hours
- Two hours of tutorials for one term or a single one-hour tutorial in the F/W terms (1.0 positions) = 135 hours
- Two hours of tutorials for two terms (2 positions, known in Unit 1 as a full teaching assistantship) = 270 hours
- Both the course director/supervisor and the tutor must take reasonable steps to ensure that all the work to complete the contract can be done within these limits. The course director—not the tutor—is responsible for proposing a workload that is precise, reasonable and doable. That workload is set out in the workload form.
- The course director must meet with both Unit 1 and Unit 2 tutors twice per contract—during the first month and again at the midway point—to consult them about the proposed workload and its feasibility and to fill out (and sign) the workload form. It’s the Course Director’s responsibility to ensure both meetings are held and, after each, to submit the workload form to the hiring unit and the Union. The Union’s email address for receiving workload forms is cupe3903workload@gmail.com.
- As a tutor, you should track all your work hours on a spreadsheet. Tracking your hours makes it possible to identify when you’re at risk of overworking.
- Click here to learn more about workload tracking spreadsheets, and download your own copy!
- As soon as you become aware that you’re at risk of overwork (i.e., you discover through tracking your hours that there’s no way to complete all the allotted tasks on your workload form within the hours’ limit), you must inform your course director immediately so that a mutually agreeable solution to overwork can be found.
- If the assigned work requires you to work more than the time covered by your contract(s) and all efforts to find a solution have been exhausted, you must be paid for your extra time at the hourly overwork rate specified in Article 10 of your Collective Agreement.
For the text of the workload policy, see Article 10.01 of the Unit 2 or Article 10.02 of the Unit 1 collective agreements. For more information, or to discuss particular cases, please contact your steward (see a list of Unit 2 Stewards here) or Lead Steward, Keisha Bell (Unit 1) or Neil Braganza (Unit 2).