The creation of joint EDI or employment equity committees may assist in the sharing and analysis of equity data and in the taking of action on the data.
The Acadia University Faculty Association (AUFA), for example, has negotiated a joint Employment Equity Committee (EEC) charged with identifying discriminatory barriers to employment equity. The collective agreement sets out the tasks of the committee and provides a detailed timeline for implementing its mandate:
3.61 The EEC shall
a. by 15 September 2017, receive training from a consultant, agreed to by the parties, on employment equity;
b. 15 October 2017, develop curriculum for Employment Equity Workshops based on a curriculum agreed to by the Parties, and
c. by 30 November 2017, review and if necessary revise the confidential Employment Equity Self-Identification Form which encourages potential candidates for positions at Acadia University to indicate whether they belong to one of the designated groups identified in Article 3.20. Applicants for positions at Acadia University shall be encouraged to complete and submit this form as part of the hiring process.
d. by 30 November 2017, develop template(s) for job advertisements to encourage applications from members of designated groups. If changes are required to the statement in Article 10.52(b) such changes shall be implemented by the Joint Committee forthwith.
e. by 30 November 2017, develop template(s) for Workforce Survey reports described in Article 3.56 (c) and (d), and establish the benchmark data using the diversity of the populations of Canada. For African Nova Scotians, the EEC shall use publicly available provincial data for the benchmark.
f. by 1 January 2018, review the Workforce Survey to be used in the employment systems review and hiring processes.
g. by 30 June 2019, undertake an employment system review of current policies and practices to determine whether they pose barriers to employment equity. The EEC shall determine its own employment systems review methods.
h. by 1 January 2020, monitor and revise as appropriate the Employment Equity Plan that aims to reduce the barriers that restrict the hiring and promotion of designated groups, taking into account the results of the workforce survey and the employment systems review;
i. undertake other activities and make recommendations to alleviate barriers to employment equity in the University as appropriate; and
j. deliver the Employment Equity Workshop and provide Human Resources with the names of all Employees who have completed the Employment Equity Workshop and the date of said workshop.14
The Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (APUO) negotiated a joint committee in its 2018-2021 agreement that:
Within four (4) months following ratification of the collective agreement, the Employer shall provide the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee with up-to-date information on the designated group distribution of academic staff with regular appointments, by academic unit. This information must be updated whenever appropriate and not less frequently than every twelve (12) months.15
Notes
14 Collective Agreement between the Board of Governors of Acadia University and the Acadia University Faculty Association (July 1 2017 – June 30, 2021).
15 Collective Agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Association of Professors of the University of Ottawa (May 1, 2018- April 30, 2021. Article 17.1.6.4