University of Toronto Faculty Association

We are very pleased to announce that the University Administration and the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) have a tentative agreement in principle regarding changes to the Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) between them. These changes were ratified by UTFA Council on January 30, 2025 and are scheduled to be recommended for approval by the University’s Governing Council on April 3, 2025. These changes will significantly amend the grievance and arbitration process under Article 7 by replacing the Grievance Review Panel with a more modern labour arbitration framework common among universities and faculty associations across the academic sector. Key changes to the MoA include that grievances will now be heard by a professional arbitrator who will have the same powers as those conferred upon arbitrators under the Ontario Labour Relations Act, the exclusion of certain senior academic administrative roles who lead on academic faculty relations matters from membership in UTFA, and improved timelines and efficiencies to address grievances. The University Administration and UTFA want to thank the Mediator Eli Gedalof for his assistance in helping the parties reach agreement.

These changes will proceed to the University Administration’s governance in Cycle 4. Additional details will be forthcoming.

We are very pleased to announce that the University Administration and University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) have agreed to a Letter of Understanding that will reimburse retiring faculty members and librarians for the value of a one-time purchase of a personal Microsoft Office software package upon their retirement (approximate value $170.00 plus applicable taxes). Retirees will have six months to transition their files to a personal device, and the Administration will provide IT support to assist with the transition.

In addition, the parties agreed to provide retirees who are actively engaged in various university activities (i.e. Teaching; Supervision of graduate students; Research (including creative professional activity); Service; Some other special project or university business requiring access to full MS Office license beyond email) continuing access to the full suite of Microsoft 365 licensed at the university.

The following groups are eligible:

• Faculty members and librarians retiring between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2029.
• Faculty members and librarians that retired prior to July 1, 2023, who have been designated as “actively engaged” and whose designation ends between December 11, 2024 and June 30, 2029.

Eligible retired faculty members and librarians should contact their Business Officers to seek reimbursement. Business Officers will receive processing instructions next week.

The Letter of Understanding provides all details of the Agreement between the parties.

The University is providing an update on the current round of bargaining between the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) for the period July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. The parties have agreed to proceed to mediation with a third-party mediator, Eli Gedalof, commencing on October 3, 2024. The University and UTFA have been engaged in ongoing bargaining since September 2023, having met on 30 dates.

Mediator Gedalof will also work with the parties on the separate process to negotiate possible revisions to the Memorandum of Agreement outside of Article 6 bargaining.

The University is providing an update on the current round of bargaining between the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) for the period July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. The University and UTFA have been engaged in ongoing bargaining since September 2023, meeting on 15 dates. During this round, the University has made a number of substantive proposals and counterproposals, including:

• PTR – The University has proposed to pay PTR for July 1, 2024, on the normal timeline.
• Across-the-board salary increases, retroactive to July 1, 2023 – The University has proposed a retroactive increase on all salaries and the per-course stipend rate for overload teaching.
• Employment Benefits – The University has proposed to implement new benefits immediately, including an increase to each current faculty member and librarian’s health care spending account.
• Workload – The University understands that workload is an issue for many faculty members and librarians and has made workload proposals to address these concerns.
• Mediation – The University has proposed that the University and UTFA retain the services of a mediator to assist them in reaching an agreement in the current round of bargaining.

Finally, the University has proposed to engage in a separate comprehensive process to negotiate revisions to the Memorandum of Agreement between the Governing Council of the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Faculty Association (the “MOA”). It has been more than seven years since the last such process brought significant and material changes to the MOA, including the extension of the timeline to tenure (from five to six years) and the establishment of a teaching stream professoriate. The University is committed to working collaboratively to ensure the MOA continues to serve the needs of faculty members and librarians into the future.

As additional information becomes available, it will be posted here.