A three-year agreement, expiring Aug. 31, 2001, has been reached between full-time college professors, counsellors and librarians represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, and the Ontario Council of Regents of Applied Arts and Technology.

Key to settlement was the withdrawal of the proposals to amend the Instructor classification and proposed increased teaching load for same, and the proposal to amend the workload formula. Faculty felt strongly that concessions in teaching areas would hinder the quality of education they would be able to deliver. The union also achieved salary gains more in line with their other education colleagues - a new salary maximum that falls between the highest Ontario public high school maximum and Ontario university professor salaries.

Effective on the date of ratification: a three per cent across-the-board salary scale increase; the addition of an eighteenth step to the academic salary schedule. Effective Sept. 1, 1999: a two per cent across-the-board salary scale increase; the addition of a nineteenth step to the academic salary schedule. Effective Sept. 1, 2000: addition of Step 20 to the academic salary schedule.

With the salary increases of three and two per cent and the three new step increases, top salaries for college professors, counsellors and librarians will go from $63,097 to $72,158, by Sept. 1, 2000.

Source: OPSEU, Negotiations News, September 8, 1998.