Talks have stalled once again, as the strike continues by the faculty at Ontario’s colleges.
College officials say the union has “stonewalled the bargaining process”, meanwhile OPSEU officials say they have rejected the College Employer Council’s “take it or leave it” offer.
Colleges call for OPSEU to suspend strike and restart classes
College Employer Council officials say OPSEU has refused to accept an offer that addresses their priorities.
“OPSEU’s insistence on continuing the strike is a terrible outcome for students and faculty,” stated Sonia Del Missier, chair of the colleges’ bargaining team.
“We addressed all faculty priorities and the offer that is available for faculty right now – on the table – should have ended this strike.”
College Employer Council officials say the colleges listened to the union and addressed its priorities with solutions on:
– Enhancing full-time employment opportunities for contract faculty
– Increasing pay
– Greater rights for contract faculty
– Better job security for contract faculty
– Academic freedom guarantees, and
– Faster compliance with Bill 148
College Employer Council officials say furthermore, the government has agreed to establish a task force on the future of Ontario colleges that will look at various issues, including staffing models and the issue of precarious work.
Ontario colleges announced on Monday that they have asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to schedule a vote on the colleges’ offer.
“We need to end this strike and get students back in the classroom,” Del Missier stated.
“We have asked the Labour Board to schedule a vote and let our faculty decide.”
College Employer Council officials say they have requested that the strike be suspended.
This will allow faculty and students to return to class, while the vote is being organized.
Suspending the strike will also allow voting at college campus locations so that the largest number of faculty are able to exercise their right to vote.
College Employer Council officials say the Labour Board will determine the vote date and it is expected that the vote will take between five and 10 days to organize.
College officials say this length of time is why the union should suspend the strike and not harm students with another lost week of studies.
“An employer vote is never a preferred path, because a settlement should be reached at the bargaining table. But
we have exhausted all efforts at the bargaining table and now our faculty will decide,” Del Missier added.
OPSEU to colleges: get back to the table
Faculty at Ontario’s 24 public colleges are calling on the College Employer Council to get back to the bargaining table and move quickly to end the strike, which is now into its fourth week.
“It is nothing short of outrageous that the colleges have refused to continue bargaining and have instead called for a vote on their final offer, which contains serious concessions,” stated JP Hornick, chair of the faculty bargaining team for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), in a press release.
“Until yesterday, we thought we were very close to a deal. Today, it turns out, they’ve pushed us farther apart.”
Hornick says the colleges’ latest offer is much worse for faculty and students than what the colleges had already agreed to verbally over the course of the negotiations.
“It significantly undermines the provisions we were able to negotiate to protect against the abuse of contract faculty,” she said.
“What Council is now calling their final offer cannot form the basis for a negotiated settlement,” she added.
“All they have done is hardened the resolve of faculty on picket lines across this province and made us more determined than ever to get a collective agreement that addresses our proposals about education quality and fairness for faculty. Bargaining needs to resume now so we can move forward and save this semester for our students.”
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas called on the colleges to “negotiate, not dictate” at the bargaining table.
“We want the students back in class as soon as possible, but dragging out the strike by calling a vote that will not likely be completed until late next week at the earliest is not the way to do that,” he said in a press release.
“The two sides were not far apart when Council abandoned the talks. With a negotiated settlement today we could have the colleges up and running again tomorrow.”
At a noon news conference, Thomas was asked why the colleges had walked away from bargaining.
“This is just a big power play by Council,” he said.
“They refuse to give up any control at all, and they refuse to share the power to make decisions on academic matters with the people who know most about it – faculty.”
