The situation is tense at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. The discontent has settled in departments, the study commission is at the center of a controversy and professors denounce an “unhealthy work climate” never seen. For his part, the director general refutes this vision of things and replies that it is a “one-off problem” with the teachers’ union.
“The turnover of administrative staff is a very, very big problem,” says Stéphane Denis, who until recently was a teacher in the Department of Computer Science. Since he has not been employed by the CEGEP since January, he agreed to testify openly. “We cannot move forward on any file. We go back to square one for each thing we want to fix. Simple things like having enough electricity in the server room: you can’t even turn on all the computers at the same time,” he says.
He resigned after nine years of teaching at Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe and two years after obtaining his tenure, which generated “a shock wave”. “The big straw that broke the camel’s back is the student failure rate, which is trivialized by management. We enroll about 120 students in the first semester, and we have difficulty graduating 20 at the end,” he says. He sat on a consultation committee of the department aiming to make assessments and underlines that this one “stubbornly put all the indicators in the green” despite “the fact that we still have a lot of problems”.
“I have seen the quality of student services deteriorate in the department,” says the Duty another computer science teacher, who underlines in passing that “the atmosphere is electric and heavy” in the department and that “everyone is on their guard”.
We start over all the time, people in my department are jaded. We have the impression that instead of dwelling on our lessons, […] we are in the process of responding to requests from members of the management, and that these members change every four months.
“There is certainly no trivialization of failure”, categorically asserts the general manager, Emmanuel Montini, in office since 2018. “We have set up a project on my initiative to review the framework for success and implement more measures. »
“One of the first things I did when I took office was to offer to the union to release teachers to discuss success”, he underlines, specifying that an assistant director of programs and the success story was created almost four years ago. He adds that he had meetings and that “the problems [de cet automne qui touchent le Département d’]computers are completely settled as we speak.
A bearing that wears out
The turnover of the administrative staff and the vacant positions are badly experienced by four teachers from different departments with whom The duty spoke — and who feel that the impact is sometimes felt on students. As they are employed by Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, they requested anonymity because of their duty of loyalty to their employer and for fear of reprisals.
“We start over all the time, people in my department are jaded,” says a professor in the science sector. “We have the impression that instead of dwelling on our courses, improving our laboratories, developing new experiments or defining what we are going to do next year, we are responding to requests for members of management, and that these members change every four months. »
For his part, the director general affirms that his CEGEP is one of those with the least turnover in Montérégie. “But is there more turnover than 10 or 15 years ago? Yes, says Emmanuel Montini. Since the pandemic, there has been more turnover in management functions. »
These long-time employees all claim to have “never seen” such a “tense climate”. “There is a lot of mobilization. If there were 75 people in a general assembly before, there are now 150”, underlines the science teacher.
“The last two or three meetings were exceptional in terms of tension. The level of impatience and anger is very high,” adds a general education teacher, who perceives a “deep division” between management’s vision and the usual consultation process. “In previous years, there was a way of sharing information and consulting people. But the administration doesn’t seem to want to take that into consideration, the communication channel no longer exists. »
“I no longer recognize my CEGEP”, drops a teacher from the pre-university sector, who denounces “a culture of silence”. “I’ve never seen management so touchy, so finicky about loyalty to the Cégep,” she says. The work climate is unhealthy, the leadership is authoritarian. »
The internal climate “is going very well” with professionals, students and managers, replies the general manager, Emmanuel Montini. “We have a specific problem with the teachers’ union, we have no problem with the working climate in the college,” he insists. He adds that tensions “on occasion” are “normal” in an establishment the size of the CEGEP and “that there will always be some”.
“We are in a period of collective agreement negotiations, it’s fair game right now to want to paint big portraits, but you have to be careful,” notes the manager.
Conflict at the study committee
The Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe study commission, made up of teachers, students and college staff, is at the center of tensions.
A letter signed by the director general as well as by the president and vice-president of the board of directors, dated March 27 and sent to all employees, set fire to the powder among the professors gathered in general assembly. “Several members of our community have expressed fear of having to appear on the study committee or to sit on it because of certain inappropriate behaviors that have taken place there in recent months”, underlines the missive, of which The duty got a copy. “This letter constitutes a general warning. »
The Director General specifies that, in recent months, “several professors, professionals and managers have complained” of “harassment and intimidation” to the outside consultant who is acting as the Cegep’s studies director. “People raised their voices, made disrespectful remarks and gestures perceived as aggressive by some, and gesticulations while speaking perceived as aggressive”, details Emmanuel Montini. “The consultant tells us in his report that it’s a bit like the worst we see in the National Assembly. There are practices which, 30 years ago, were considered acceptable but which, because of the evolution of society and mores, are no longer so. »
For her part, the president of the Syndicat des professors du cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe–CSN affirms that these elements “deserve several nuances and seem disproportionate to reality”. “The case of the study commission is part of a broader context where an unhealthy work climate has persisted for too long in college, underlines Selma Bennani. The union reiterates its openness in order to restore dialogue. »
According to a teacher who currently sits on the academic committee, one faculty member in particular would sometimes raise his voice. “It has a slightly more intense tone, but we are far from intimidation and violence,” he told the Duty. “We fell out of our chair when we saw the letter”, which was perceived as a threat.
Mediation in sight?
What the union describes as difficulty in dialogue with management prompted it to request mediation on March 20. But the letter sent about the commission of studies has made matters worse for the professors. A request for “immediate mediation” was then sent to the union on April 18 by the director of human resources, “in the hope of improving things”.
The big straw that broke the camel’s back is the student failure rate, which is trivialized by management. We enroll about 120 students in the first semester, and we have difficulty in graduating 20 of them at the end.
“In the next few days, the next few weeks, we hope for a return to normal, what we had before the current school year. We want better communication between us and the teachers,” says Emmanuel Montini.
The teachers will meet in a general assembly on Wednesday to discuss this request.