OCAD U and OCADFA issue joint statement

On January 20, 2025, OCAD University and the OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA) released the following statement:

We are writing to inform you that on January 16, 2025, arbitrator William Kaplan issued an award for a renewal Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between OCAD University and the OCAD Faculty Association (OCADFA), which represents OCAD U’s faculty, technicians, teaching assistants, research assistants and academic counsellors. The term of the renewal collective agreement is from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. This award is binding, and as a result, is not subject to ratification.

The OCAD U Faculty Association and University actively engaged in the collective bargaining process from May 2023 until October 2024, at which point the parties filed for mediation/arbitration as permitted within the MoA. After reducing the outstanding issues of concern at mediation over several days in November 2024, the parties agreed to a mediation/arbitration hearing held by Mr. Kaplan on January 8, 2025.

The University recognizes the award will improve working conditions for OCADFA members.

OCAD University would like to extend sincere thanks to the representatives of both the OCADFA and administration negotiating committees for the considerable time, effort and dedication they contributed to this process. While we worked on some tough challenges, all involved were deeply committed to the betterment of our faculty and academic staff, and to the University as a whole.

The arbitration award is available on the OCADFA website.