Ontario’s 24 public colleges and the union representing more than 15,000 faculty will settle their contract dispute through binding arbitration, avoiding a strike that could have disrupted the current semester.
The College Employer Council (CEC) said it reached an agreement with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) for full-time and partial-load professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians.
“We are pleased to have averted an unnecessary strike at Ontario’s 24 public colleges,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC. “Our goal throughout negotiations has been to recognize the hard work of academic employees and to keep students in class.”
OPSEU, which represents college faculty across the province, confirmed that outstanding items will be submitted to mediation-arbitration. “Faculty working conditions are student learning conditions, and with a historic strike mandate and province-wide organizing, faculty sent the clear message that we’re ready to stand up to protect both,” said Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, chair of the faculty bargaining team.
Classes are expected to continue on schedule this term. Both sides said they hope the binding arbitration process, led by Arbitrator William Kaplan, will settle key issues in dispute.
The CEC credited the agreement for ensuring that students remain in class. “It was important to us to provide stability to students at the start of their semester,” said Dr. Laurie Rancourt, chair of the Management Bargaining team. “We are encouraged that OPSEU has prioritized students by agreeing to binding arbitration.”
OPSEU President JP Hornick said the union remains concerned about the long-term health of Ontario’s college system. “College students are reduced to walking dollar signs for the same reason that 75% of faculty are precarious, working contract-to-contract,” said Hornick. Hornick also said the union believes the provincial government has underfunded colleges and created an overreliance on revenues from international students.
The CEC acts as the bargaining agent for Ontario’s publicly funded colleges. OPSEU says its members will continue to focus on issues that include benefits and job security, especially for those who work on short-term contracts.
