The winter term will proceed without disruption after the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), the union representing Ontario college faculty, librarians and counsellors, and the College Employer Council (CEC) signed a memorandum of agreement on Jan. 7.
The union said the agreement involving the province's 24 public colleges "narrowly" avoids a strike this term.
While the two sides remain at an impasse on certain issues, the parties have agreed to send all outstanding items to mediation-arbitration. The memorandum of agreement proposes "significant benefit gains, especially for their most precarious members," the union said.
A new contract for college faculty will be decided at a later date.
The decision follows rounds of non-binding mediation on Jan. 6 and 7, just before the winter session began on Jan. 8.
OPSEU said it secured key deals for its most ‘’precarious’’ members, which make up 75 per cent of the workforce.
‘’We have seen more movement from the CEC in the past two days than over the past six months,’’ the union said.
In October, 79 per cent of faculty members who cast a ballot voted in favour of authorizing a strike as necessary.
The union said it flexed its escalation and mandate power ‘’in service of a better system," but argues the Conservative Ontario government of Doug Ford is the root cause of the issues.
“Underfunding our colleges is against the public interest,” OPSEU said. “Our communities direly need investment, more than we need a new luxury spa in Toronto.”
OPSEU President JP Hornick criticized Ontario’s funding priorities.
“The same government that proudly declares that every $1 invested in post-secondary education has a $1.36 return for Ontarians, has put Ontario dead last amongst the provinces for per-student funding,” Hornick said. “It’s not just illogical, it’s irresponsible. Ford is gambling away Ontario’s future.”
The union also pointed to government mismanagement of international students as a contributing factor.
A 2021 report by the Auditor General revealed the Ministry of Colleges and Universities lacked a strategic plan to address potential declines in international student enrolment in the long term.
OPSEU also accused college executives of supporting exploitative practices.
“College executives were more than happy to go along with an agenda that exploits students and workers alike,” the union stated.
The CEC says it has proposed enhanced benefits for all academic employees and better access to benefits for partial-load employees.
The CEC emphasized its efforts to avoid a strike and maintain stability for students. “Our goal has been to recognize the hard work of academic employees and to put students first,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC.
“It was important to us to provide stability to students at the start of their semester,” said Laurie Rancourt, the chair of the council’s bargaining team. “We are encouraged that OPSEU has prioritized students by agreeing to binding arbitration.”
OPSEU says Ontario colleges should be treated as public assets rather than cash grabs or political tools in immigration debates.
“College students are reduced to walking dollar signs,” Hornick said. “Seventy-five per cent of faculty are precarious, working contract-to-contract.”
The union says cuts to programming and staff at colleges, alongside federal restrictions on international student visas, will continue to threaten the system.
“Faculty’s fight to save the colleges isn’t over and it won’t be limited to the bargaining table,’’ it said.
The College Student Alliance (CSA), which represents seven student associations across Ontario with about 40,000 students, expressed relief over the agreement.
“From the start, we’ve maintained that students should never become collateral damage in labour disputes,” said Michael Tahir, vice president of the CSA. “We’re pleased that students can now focus on their academic studies without the concern of a potential strike.”
The classes will run as scheduled, but OPSEU emphasized the resolution is far from a comprehensive fix.
The CEC and OPSEU are also negotiating a contract for the colleges' part-time support staff workers, which began in January 2024.
