The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), the union representing Ontario's college faculty, has started the process of calling a strike on Dec. 12 by requesting a no-board report.
It began the process on Tuesday by letting a non-escalation agreement with the College Employer Council (CEC) lapse following mediation talks earlier this month.
A strike or a lockout can occur 16 days after the request for the no-board report, making it possible for either side to begin work action in early January. Options include work-to-rule, partial walkouts, rotating strikes, or a full work stoppage. Simultaneously, it allows the CEC to impose terms and conditions or lock out faculty.
The two sides have planned two more days of non-binding mediation just before the winter term is scheduled to begin.
The union has also filed an unfair labour practice complaint to the Ministry of Labour. The union said the CEC has not provided disclosure on its statistical projections despite repeated requests.
Meanwhile, the CEC said it was shocked by the union's move to ask for a no board report.
The CEC on its website said ‘’OPSEU’s last offer of settlement amounts to more than $1 billion in new annual costs.’’
Chandra Hodgson, vice-president of Humber’s faculty union, Local 562, says ‘’they're saying they can't afford it, and we're saying, okay, but you have to prove that.’’
The union also says that the CEC has started implementing its proposal in different colleges for January while negotiations are ongoing.
‘’All of the rights that we have in our collective agreement right now and our working conditions, those were fought for in previous years by union members. The bargaining team does not have the mandate, does not have the right to give away those rights that were fought for,’’ Hodgson said.
The faculty and the council remain at an impasse over key issues, including job security, workload issues, and faculty staffing levels.
"A strike at Ontario’s Colleges is wholly unnecessary and causes uncertainty and disruption for students and faculty in a time of financial instability," Graham Lloyd, the CEO of CEC, said.
Michelle Arbour, acting chair of the faculty bargaining team, said workers should not pay the price for the failure “of the Colleges and various governments in mismanaging post-secondary education in Ontario."
The union’s demands disregard the ‘’stark reality’’ Ontario colleges are dealing with, the CEC said.
"Throughout this bargaining process, our goal has remained the same. We want to keep our students learning and faculty in the classroom," Lloyd said. He asked OPSEU to continue talking.
The union emphasized its willingness to reach a fair agreement and avoid disruption.
The union said it would not settle for a contract worse than the current one. It asks the colleges ‘’to prioritize a better path forward to fulfill its responsibility to students, parents, and workers across Ontario.’’
Both OPSEU and the College Employer Council (CEC) are set to engage for another round of non-binding mediation in early January.
In a Tuesday email to members, the union said the CEC has removed only one of the more than 30 concessions it is seeking.
OPSEU says on its website that it "cannot in good faith accept a collective agreement with concessions" eroding working conditions, which it says could make cuts from the colleges easier.
The union said it encourages the "CEC to engage productively in January, encouragements have not moved concessions off the table. If we want different results, we need to take a different approach."
The CEC on its website says it’s ‘’committed to the process and to reaching an agreement with the CAAT-A bargaining team to provide stability for students, employees and the greater college community.’’
