XFA, OPSEU 596, CUPE 3904, and CUPE 233
Respond to Campus Return To Work Concerns

Several universities in the province (including Western, Windsor, Laurier, Ontario Tech, OCAD, Brock) have adopted more robust measures in their return to campus strategy and implementation protocols. For example, Western requires COVID-19 booster and masking in instructional spaces to preserve “the in-person learning experience.” They go on to further cite several compelling rationales, including the commentary by Dr. Saverio Stranges, Public Health Physician & Chair of Epidemiology and Biostatistics:

“Mitigating the risk of transmission of COVID-19 as well as of severe outcomes from the infection can be effectively achieved with a combination of masking and vaccination,” said Stranges. “This also reduces severity of symptoms and protects those immunocompromised individuals in our community. There is no doubt that this approach will help keep people out of hospitals and preserve on-campus teaching and learning.”

The presidents of the four TMU campus unions wrote collectively to the TMU senior Administration, expressing their dissatisfaction with the TMU announcement and requesting a meeting to discuss it. ( read more )