Ontario’s college faculty could begin labour action early in the new year after requesting a “no board” report from the Ministry of Labour, signalling a breakdown in contract negotiations. The move, announced Thursday by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), puts faculty in a legal strike position 16 days after the report is issued.
“Our college system is crumbling – we can’t sit back and let its failed stewards bulldoze education,” said Michelle Arbour, acting chair of the faculty bargaining team. Arbour said the union’s demands aim to protect the core mandate of colleges as educational institutions, rather than what she called “cash-grabs.”
The request comes after mediation sessions held from Dec. 6 to Dec. 8 failed to produce an agreement. Union leaders said proposed contract terms from the College Employer Council (CEC) would worsen working conditions, diminish job security, and compromise the quality of education in the province’s college system.
“Record profits and runaway administrative bloat – that’s the last decade of Ontario’s colleges in a nutshell,” said Arbour, who has worked in the system as both contract and full-time faculty since 2012. She added that the number of managers has tripled over the past decade, while many faculty work on precarious contracts with few or no benefits.
The union has raised concerns over cuts to frontline staff and what it described as the erosion of the college system. JP Hornick, OPSEU/SEFPO president and faculty member at George Brown College, criticized what they called austerity measures implemented by college administrators and provincial policymakers.
“The heads of the college system and corporate-friendly politicians have manufactured the present crisis, setting up our college system like a house of cards,” said Hornick. “Now, that house is collapsing, and it appears the only contingency plan was austerity.”
Ontario colleges serve as vital contributors to the province’s labour market and economic health, according to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. However, decades of underfunding have led to significant challenges, union officials said.
The two sides are scheduled to meet for non-binding mediation on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, 2025. Union leaders urged the CEC to prioritize an agreement that ensures stability for faculty and students alike.
“There are no colleges without faculty,” Hornick said. “If we’re going to save the system, we need frontline workers setting the agenda, not footing the bill.”
If an agreement is not reached, faculty could strike as early as mid-January.