March 16, 2020 COVID-19 Update

March 17, 2020

Note: URFA has a new web­page where we will be post­ing updates regard­ing COVID-19 on cam­pus. Vis­it it here.

URFA con­tin­ues to close­ly mon­i­tor the sit­u­a­tion regard­ing the nov­el coro­n­avirus (COVID-19) as the Uni­ver­si­ty of Regi­na, Cam­pi­on and Luther Col­leges, and First Nations Uni­ver­si­ty of Cana­da (FNUniv) have all made sig­nif­i­cant oper­a­tional changes that affect the day-to-day work­ing envi­ron­ment of URFA members. 

The URFA Pres­i­dent and URFA Exec­u­tive Direc­tor met with Uni­ver­si­ty of Regi­na Admin­is­tra­tion on Sun­day, and were briefed on the University’s deci­sion to can­cel class­es and move cours­es online for the remain­der of the semes­ter. URFA sup­ports this deci­sion, as the health and safe­ty of the uni­ver­si­ty com­mu­ni­ty must be the high­est priority. 

This is a chal­leng­ing time. There have been many emails and com­mu­ni­ca­tions from the employ­er, and we under­stand that you may have ques­tions. Below, URFA has some infor­ma­tion for mem­bers as we all do our best to adjust to a new work­ing situation. 

Most impor­tant­ly, we want to hear from you. If you are fac­ing any issues relat­ed to the oper­a­tional changes that have been made due to COVID-19, please con­tact the URFA office at urfa@​uregina.​ca .

Aca­d­e­m­ic Mem­bers (U of R, Cam­pi­on, Luther, FNUniv) 

URFA under­stands that mem­bers are feel­ing pres­sured to move cours­es online. URFA is here to ensure that you are being pro­vid­ed the time and resources that you need, and that you do not suf­fer any adverse con­se­quences if you encounter any dif­fi­cul­ties in doing so. 

You should also con­sid­er the amount of time need­ed to move cours­es online. You are not expect­ed to mon­i­tor emails and respond to requests out­side of nor­mal work­ing hours. 

Aca­d­e­m­ic mem­bers have been told to work remote­ly and we strong­ly encour­age you to do so. 

APT Mem­bers (U of R, FNUniv)

APT mem­bers should track their hours if you are work­ing in excess of nor­mal­ly sched­uled work­ing hours.

URFA under­stands that the Uni­ver­si­ty of Regi­na is look­ing at oppor­tu­ni­ties for mem­bers to work remote­ly​“where pos­si­ble.” We encour­age APT mem­bers at both the U of R and FNUniv to speak with your direct super­vi­sor to arrange pos­si­bil­i­ties for work­ing remote­ly. If you have any ques­tions or con­cerns about your abil­i­ty to work remote­ly, please con­tact URFA as soon as possible. 

All URFA mem­bers have the right to refuse to work in con­di­tions that are deemed to be unsafe. If you have any ques­tions about refus­ing unsafe work, please con­tact the URFA Office. 

Ses­sion­al Mem­bers (U of R, FNUniv) 

Ses­sion­al mem­bers should track their hours when work­ing to put their cours­es online. As far as URFA under­stands, Ses­sion­al con­tracts will be hon­oured and your income should not be affect­ed by any pol­i­cy changes regard­ing course delivery. 

Aca­d­e­m­ic mem­bers includ­ing ses­sion­als have been told they are free to work remote­ly and we strong­ly encour­age you to do so. 

URFA Office Operations 

URFA staff are cur­rent­ly tran­si­tion­ing to work­ing remote­ly. As a result, mem­ber inquiries may not be respond­ed to imme­di­ate­ly, and all intakes will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The URFA Exec­u­tive Direc­tor will remain in the office, how­ev­er, it is asked that mem­bers please refrain from arriv­ing at the office unless you have made pre­vi­ous arrange­ments to do so. The best way to con­tact URFA is by email at urfa@​uregina.​ca.

Mem­ber Ques­tions and Concerns

As men­tioned, we want to hear from you if you have any ques­tions or con­cerns about issues you are fac­ing dur­ing this time so that we can raise them with the Admin­is­tra­tion and work to resolve them. Please do not hes­i­tate to con­tact us at urfa@​uregina.​ca