Improving working conditions for contract academic staff is the underlying theme for this year’s Fair Employment Week, slated for October 24–28 2016.

“For more and more faculty and staff who work and teach in universities and colleges across Canada, employment is anything but fair,” says CAUT President James Compton. “Contract academic staff face major challenges because their employment status is temporary and their access to work is limited.”

Today, about one third of all academic staff working in universities and colleges in Canada are employed on short-term and precarious contracts. They have no job security, poor pay, little or no benefits, and often are not even given access to the basic resources they need to do their job.

“This week, we are putting pressure on governments and administrators to improve the conditions of contract academic staff in our institutions," added CAUT Executive Director David Robinson. "We know that when we make their jobs more secure and strengthen their access to secure work and regular benefits, we not only help them as educators, but we also improve their workplace conditions in ways that improve the learning experience of their students."

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For more information, please contact:

Valérie Dufour, Director of Communications, 613-293-1810 or dufour@caut.ca