Update: Negotiations with BCIT

Update: Negotiations with BCIT

The FSA and BCIT have reached a temporary agreement for the continued use of student employees in developmental roles, including research activities and co-op positions. The new agreement extends the existing Letter of Intent regarding research negotiations until August 31, 2018. In addition to the extension, BCIT has agreed to include Specialized Faculty in Student Services in BCIT’s International Mobility Fund for the next fiscal year. BCIT will make a $10,000 allocation to the fund for Student Services faculty, including Library Services, Co-operative Education, Counselling, Aboriginal Services, and other Student Services departments.

Letter of Intent

The Letter of Intent commits BCIT and the FSA to continue discussions on what applied research should look like under the collective agreement so that these changes can be implemented quickly once the government authorizes BCIT to agree to such changes. These discussions were delayed by the significant turnover in management personnel responsible for these discussions.  More recently, the FSA has been focused on an opportunity to move government policy on this issue.  While significant progress has been made on the policy side, no action is expected from government until after the provincial election.  BCIT and the FSA have only recently rejoined discussions around specific changes to the collective agreement.

Student Employees

The Letter of Intent also commits the FSA to agreeing to the use of student employees in developmental roles, subject to other limits on student employees set out in the collective agreement.  The extension of the agreement ensures that student employees can be hired in these roles for the 2017 and 2018 summer hiring seasons.  The use of student employees in developmental roles is a condition of many research grants even though it is not provided for under the collective agreement.  Unless there is a new agreement to address research issues more broadly, the FSA will revert to the strict application of the student employee provisions of the collective agreement effective August 31, 2018.

International Mobility Fund (IMF)

Discussions about expanding the application of the IMF have been on-going for over a year.  The IMF currently distributes up to $10,000 per fiscal year to regular faculty in each school as well as Applied Research and the Learning and Teaching Centre to participate in international research and teaching activities overseas.  The FSA has been asking why Specialized Faculty in Student Services have not been included in the fund, given their participation in international research and instructional activities.  Under this agreement, BCIT is making a one time allocation of $10,000 to be available to Specialized Faculty in Student Services.  Like other IMF pools, applications for these funds will be adjudicated by the IMF Committee twice a year.  Applications for the first round are due March 31, 2017.  The committee is not obligated to distribute all the funds and the funds do not carry over from year to year.  BCIT has not committed to including Specialized Faculty in Students Services in the the IMF past March 31, 2018.