Board of Governors APPENDIX VI January 24, 2002
REPORT OF THE SENIOR OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Links to Specific Items in This Report
Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Standing Committees of the Board - 2002 Membership of Standing Committees of the Board - 2002
Employment Equity Policy Board Members
Appointment to Bodies other than Board Standing Committees
FOR ACTION
1. Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Standing Committees of the Board
Recommended: That the following be appointed to serve as Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs in 2002:
Audit
Chair... Stephen Adams Vice-Chair...Carol McAulay-Weldon Campus & Community Affairs
Chair... Helen Connell Vice-Chair...Halfdan Kelly Development & Fund Raising
Chair... Rosamond Ivey Property & Finance
Chair...Ginny Dybenko Vice-Chair...Mark Pickard 2. Membership of Standing Committees of the Board
Recommended: That the membership of the standing committees of the Board for the period February 2002 through January 2003, be approved as shown in Annex 1.
3. Employment Equity Policy
Recommended: That the revised Employment Equity Policy (Policy 3.2, attached as Annex 2) replace the current Employment Equity Program.
Background:
On March 17, 1988, The University of Western Ontario became a signatory to the Federal Contractors Program ("AFCP"). As an organization with more than 100 employees which has contracts with the Federal Government of $200,000 or more, Western is subject to the FCP. The FCP is intended to ensure that organizations doing business with the Federal Government strive to achieve a representative workforce and a commitment to employment equity. The program identifies Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minority groups, persons with disabilities and women as groups historically disadvantaged in employment in Canada. These are the "designated groups" referred to
in the FCP.
The FCP sets out eleven criteria for compliance. These include, but are not limited to, the collection and maintenance of information on the employment status of designated group employees, analysis of designated group representation within the organization, establishment of goals for hiring, training and promotion, establishment of a work plan for reaching these goals, and authorization for representatives of the FCP to conduct compliance reviews. Failure to comply with the eleven criteria will result in a loss of opportunity to do business with the Federal Government, and ineligibility to receive Federal contracts of any value.
Western adopted "The Employment Equity Program" (the "Policy") in November, 1988. The Policy required Western to develop a formal employment equity plan. This work plan was approved by the Board of Governors in October 1993. Neither the Policy nor the work plan have been revised since their adoption.
The Policy sets out a statement of principle on employment equity and outlines how this will be reflected in what Western does. For example, the Policy provides that Western will promote the full participation of designated group members in its workforce and will introduce special measures where appropriate. The Policy also created the President's Standing Committee for Employment Equity (the
"Committee") to assist Western in determining and achieving its employment equity goals. The membership of this Committee was set out in the policy and included representatives from the various employee groups on campus.
In the spring of this year, the Committee reviewed the existing policy and determined that several changes were warranted. The first of these changes was simply to better articulate the principles of employment equity. This resulted primarily in language changes in the opening principles. The Committee also restated the actions under the sub-heading "Policy" as "Objectives" and added some further actions in keeping with the criteria of the FCP. Finally, the Committee restructured its own membership to be consistent with the changes in employee groups and unionization that has taken place on campus since 1988.
It is hoped that updating the current policy will also be seen by the community as a renewal of Western's commitment to the principles of employment equity.
FOR INFORMATION 1. Board Members
The Alumni Association has appointed Michele Noble (BA, Honors Economics, UWO, 1971) to the Board of Governors for a four-year term commencing December 11, 2001. Ms. Noble, now retired, began her public service career with the federal government and then worked briefly in the private sector before joining the Ontario government. She served as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Correctional Services, and Deputy Solicitor General until her appointment to Management Board Secretariat in 1995. Ms. Noble was a member of the Canadian Comprehensive Auditing Foundation (CCAF)1 Task Force on Management Principles for Public Performance Reporting (March 2001). CCAF is a public/private sector partnership organized as a national non-profit foundation. CCAF's mission is to provide exemplary thought leadership and to build both knowledge and capacity for effective governance and meaningful accountability, management and audit. The focus for, and beneficiary of, their work is the public sector.
1 CCAF is a public/private sector partnership organized as a national non-profit foundation.
CCAF's mission is to provide exemplary thought leadership and to build both knowledge and capacity for effective governance and meaningful accountability, management and audit. The focus for, and beneficiary of, their work is the public sector.
Board of Governors APPENDIX VI
January 24, 2002 Page 3
In December, Al Edmondson was re-elected Warden of Middlesex County. In his capacity as Warden, Mr. Edmondson will continue to serve on the Board of Governors as an ex officio member.
2. Appointment to Bodies other than Board Standing Committees
On behalf of the Board, the Senior Operations Committee has made the following appointments to bodies other than Board standing committees:
Senate
Stephen Adams (to February 2003)
Josephine Spencer Niblett Endowment Fund Jan Van Fleet (to February 2003)
Board of Governors APPENDIX VI
January 24, 2002 Annex 2
The UNIVERSITY of WESTERN ONTARIO POLICIES and PROCEDURES 3.2 EMPLOYMENT EQUITY POLICY
Classification: Personnel - All Effective Date: 24JAN02 Supersedes: 28SEP00
PRINCIPLES
1.00 The University of Western Ontario recognises that Employment Equity is a value at the core of the University's mandate as a community leader and an institution of higher learning.
Employment Equity recognises the value and dignity of each individual and ensures that each individual will have genuine, open and unhindered access to employment opportunities, free from artificial barriers, whether systemic or otherwise. Employment Equity involves hiring the most suitably qualified candidate for any open position while ensuring that the hiring process and the qualifications required for each position are fair and equitable for all persons.
Accordingly, The University of Western Ontario seeks to integrate fully the principles of Employment Equity with its other human-resource policies and procedures in order to ensure that all present and potential employees receive equitable treatment in all matters related to employment. The University of Western Ontario will take appropriate steps to ensure that, throughout the entire organization, representation rates of historically disadvantaged groups reflect their availability within the labour force of the external community.
All members of the community play a role in the success of Employment Equity. Final responsibility and accountability for the University's Employment Equity Policy, however, rest with the President.
OBJECTIVES
2.00 Under Employment Equity, The University of Western Ontario has the following objectives:
(a) to promote the full participation and advancement of members of the designated groups under the Federal Contractors Program (women, native persons, members of visible minority groups and persons with disabilities) in the University workforce;
(b) to implement such special measures as are required to attract, retain and promote members of the designated groups and to ensure that individuals in positions to make or influence decisions regarding the status or working conditions of current and prospective employees are aware of such special measures and have received training in their application;
(c) to identify those areas of the University workforce wherein members of the designated groups are under-represented and to focus special measures to redress such under-representation and to ensure that individuals in positions to make or influence decisions regarding the status or working conditions of current and prospective employees are aware of such special measures and have received training in their application;
(d) to ensure that individuals in positions to make or influence decisions regarding the status or working conditions of current and prospective employees are aware of this policy and have received training in its meaning and application, that they implement its core values in all decisions and that they communicate and apply them to all members of staff and faculty;
(e) to collect and analyse workforce data, develop a formal employment equity plan and prepare an annual report which will contain specific recommendations for action to be undertaken by the senior officers of this institution and which will detail the progress of those recommendations.
THE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY COMMITTEE
3.00 Recognizing that the success of employment equity relies in large part on the input provided by its employees, the University will establish an Employment Equity Committee. As a standing committee reporting to the President, it will be the responsibility of the Committee to:
(a) consider, upon the completion of a statistical review and analysis by the Equity Services Office and the Committee, where and to what extent designated groups are under-represented within the University's workforce;
(b) examine all of the University's employment policies and practices and all negotiated agreements with employee groups and recommend to the parties changes to those that do not conform with equal employment opportunities in hiring, promotion, remuneration, training, working conditions and terminations. While the Committee will be asked to determine the fairness of employment agreements, policies and practices, particular attention is to be given to examining those procedures that work to the disadvantage of members of the designated groups;
(c) prepare and submit an Annual Report to the President, which shall include specific recommendations based on the analysis and examinations detailed above with timeframes where appropriate. The President will release the Report to the University community;
(d) assist the University and the Equity Services Office in the endorsement and fostering of behaviour that advances the basic tenets of employment equity.
4.00 The Committee's membership shall be as follows:
One representative appointed by each of the following:
University of Western Ontario Faculty Association University of Western Ontario Staff Association Professional and Managerial Association
University of Western Ontario Graduate Teaching Assistants - PSAC Local 610
Physical Plant - CUPE Local 2361 Food Services - CUPE Local 2692 Select Administrative Group Employees The Associate Vice-President (Human Resources) The Vice-Provost
The Vice-President (Administration) The Director, Equity Services
Seven persons appointed by the President: four who will act as representatives of the designated groups covered under the Federal Contractors Program, one who will be a senior academic or administrative leader and two who deal with matters related to part-time employment at the University.
5.00 Membership terms of the appointed members are two years but, upon initiation of this policy, half of the members shall be appointed for a one-year term in order to provide for staggered terms. The tenure of all members shall run from June 1 of the year of appointment. No appointed member of the Committee may serve for more than four years consecutively.
6.00 The Chair shall be elected annually by the Committee.
THE EQUITY SERVICES OFFICE
7.00 The Equity Services Office is responsible for facilitating the implementation of the employment equity policy. Any individuals or groups with questions or concerns regarding the application of this policy should direct them to the Equity Services Office. All inquiries are to be held in the strictest confidence unless permission is given in writing for the release of such information.
