YUFA
Contract
Faculty who are meeting classes in overflowing rooms should be aware of their rights and responsibilities under our Collective Agreement and the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Every classroom will have a maximum room capacity determined by the Fire Marshal. (This should be posted by the door. If it is not posted that absence itself is a violation. ) If the number of students present when you first meet the class, or at any subsequent time, exceeds that limit (or in the absence of a posted notice seems to exceed the seating capacity), you should ask students who are not registered to leave the room.
If they do not do so, and the room is still in excess of the posted maximum, you should immediately report the problem to the Dean/Principal. They have an obligation to investigate the problem in your presence and in the presence of a YUFA representative, if you so choose.
Article 18.37 of our Collective Agreement states that "employees who have reason to believe that a work situation is likely to endanger them have the right to refuse unsafe work pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act." The right to refuse unsafe work, as well as the rights to an investigation and freedom from reprisal, are protected by sections 43 & 50 of the Occupational Health & Safety Act.
When the number of students in a room exceeds the number permitted by the Fire Marshal the work situation is unsafe.
Overcrowded rooms pose a danger for students and may place instructors in positions of liability should injury occur. Encourage the students to complain about overcrowding to the Dean/Principal of their faculty.
A partial listing of rooms with their capacities can be accessed at: http://www.cns.yorku.ca/itc/rooms.html.