The University of Windsor Faculty Association is calling on the university’s administration to reconsider its decision to force 13 faculty members to retire this summer.

A new provincial law banning mandatory retirement, which is to take effect in December, has prompted universities such as Toronto, Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier, Laurentian, Lakehead and Trent, to suspend mandatory retirements of faculty members turning 65 this year.

But while options for a longer working life are available at some institutions, the U of W has so far refused to change its policy on retirement age. “The government of Ontario has deemed mandatory retirement discriminatory, and the University of Windsor’s administration needs to recognize that forced retirement is discriminatory now, not just when the ban comes into effect,” said Brian Brown, president of the faculty association.

The university’s vice-president academic, Neil Gold, told the Windsor Star that the administration hadn’t known when the legislation would pass and continued its recruitment drive to replace retiring faculty. He also said the affected faculty members “should have been preparing for their retirement date.”

Brown said the university has rejected requests to negotiate options for the 13 faculty members retiring this summer and discuss the overall impact of the legislation on rights and benefits.

He said he hopes the university will consider options for those turning 65 before December and wanting a later retirement age and those who don’t.

When the law comes into effect, Ontario will join Manitoba, Quebec, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in banning mandatory retirement.