Saying it was not given enough time to review the final document, the Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) plans to challenge the operational transformation plan approved by LU’s board of governors on Nov. 1.
The union representing faculty at the university said it was only given the final copy of the document, which now awaits approval by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, on October 26.
LUFA president Fabrice Colin contends this was not enough time for the union’s executive to review the document effectively before it went before the board of governors at a special meeting the following week.
He said three of the LUFA executive members were out of town that weekend, two of them at a Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) meeting.
Colin said he hopes this matter can be resolved “informally,” and the union’s concerns can be addressed, without the need to file a challenge through the grievance process, which would be used because the plan affects his members’ collective agreement.
Laurentian University’s new operational transformation plan — which is not to be confused with its under-development 2024-2028 strategic plan — actually stems from the university’s 2021-22 insolvency.
Under the terms of the plan of arrangement, which outlined LU’s responsibilities as it exited from insolvency in late 2022, Laurentian was legally obligated to hire a consultant to lead a comprehensive operational restructuring of the university.
The consultant tapped by Laurentian for the job early this spring was Deloitte.
Laurentian University interim president Sheila Embleton told us that LU had 120 days from when it hired the consultant to approve the plan, which put the deadline at last week.
There are “good things in the plan,” Colin concedes, but the union is concerned about what they call the lack of transparency with the process.
“So as you might remember, at the exit of the CCAA, we were promised more transparency, more collegial governance, more co-operation,” he said. “That promise was reiterated after the release of the Auditor General’s Report. But here we go again.”
Laurentian’s consultant, Deloitte, has also been retained until October 2024 “at a cost not to exceed $972,920” to oversee the implementation of the operational transformation.
Laurentian was obligated under the terms of its plan of arrangement to retain a third-party consultant to oversee its operational transformation implementation.
A press release put out by Laurentian last week said the Transformation Plan Implementation Office (TPIO) is in the process of building its team.
It will be made up of members from four “workstreams” identified in the plan as needing work — Information Technology (IT), Finance, Human Resources (HR) as well as Registrar Services and Student Affairs (RSSA).
“In the press release from the administration, there's a mention of the Transformation Plan Implementation Office,” said Colin.
“We were not part of the discussion, we were not consulted. Even the term itself, Transformation Plan Implementation Office, the first time I saw that was in the press release from the administration.”
Although the plan itself states that it was developed “in consultation with our labour partners,” Colin said it turned out these consultations were inadequate.
He said if there are new policies contained within the operational transformation plan that may affect the collective agreement, they “should be disclosed prior to implementation” by the board so that the union has a chance to make its case.
Speaking to Sudbury.com this week, interim president Embleton said as the operational transformation plan went through many drafts, labour groups at Laurentian were privy to them all.
“We simply didn't know they were out of town,” Embleton said, referring to LUFA’s assertion its members were out of town the weekend after they received the plan’s final version.
“But there was no intent to not give them time to look at it. But that very final version would only have been a phrase or two different here and there from the previous drafts.”
Embleton said LUFA received the plan’s final version at the same time as other members of Laurentian’s board.
She said in her opinion, labour groups at Laurentian were adequately involved in the consultation phase, even having members on the transformation consulting group, which led the plan’s creation along with consultants from Deloitte.
“So that should have been enough to keep them up to date, and have their input,” Embleton said.
As for the transparency complaints, she said “I can't imagine how we would do a more transparent process.” Besides the unions’ direct involvement, individual faculty members were also given the chance to give their opinions, Embleton said.
She said she hopes any issues the union has with the plan can be resolved “by talking,” although Embleton said she’s actually not clear on what exactly LUFA’s issues are.
Laurentian University said in a press release issued last week that the transformation plan is informed by earlier recommendations from the NOUS Group and the Auditor General’s report on Laurentian University.
It acknowledged those who served on the Transformation Consulting Group (TCG) and the more than 120 people who participated (faculty, staff, students, alumni) in engagement sessions over the spring and summer.
“As we progress through implementation we look forward to continuing to work with our labour partners as key stakeholders,” said the press release.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
