As another union proposal aimed at ending Ontario's college faculty strike was struck down Tuesday, the head of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) bargaining team warns students are virtually guaranteed to lose a semester.
The union, which represents over 12,000 instructors, counselors, and librarians at Ontario's 24 public colleges, said it put forward the new offer Monday. But the new pitch, made after negotiations between the two sides broke down, was rejected by the College Employer Council less than 24 hours later.
“This is a terrible move, and a terrible mistake,” said JP Hornick, chair of the OPSEU faculty bargaining team, in a statement. “It guarantees that the strike will continue, and it virtually guarantees that hundreds of thousands of college students will lose their semester.”
Just five days after the two sides resumed talks, the council claimed on Monday that the union was "stonewalling the bargaining process" and it wanted to take its latest offer directly to faculty. The council asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to schedule a vote directly with the membership. That vote will be held November 14 to 16 through an electronic ballot.
“Realistically, it will be the end of week five before the vote results are even known,” said Hornick.
The union is urging its members, who have been on the picket line for 23 days, to reject the council's "take it or leave it" offer.
The council, which negotiates on behalf of the colleges, issued its own statement Tuesday claiming it has given the union a solution to end the strike.
"Colleges responded to the union [Tuesday] morning through the mediator and proposed a possible solution to end the strike that has entered its fourth week," read the council statement. "The colleges are not negotiating in the press. If OPSEU is sincere about getting 500,000 students back in the classroom, then OPSEU should be at the bargaining table rather than making press announcements."
The council offered no details into what the possible solution entails.
College faculty walked off the job in mid-October, cancelling classes for more than half a million students. Originally, job security was the key bargaining issue for the union. It had been seeking a 50/50 split of full time and contract positions and an increased role in academic decision-making. But while the council has offered enhanced full-time employment opportunities and rights for contract faculty and a 7.75% pay increase over four years, it refuses to bend on new contract language around academic freedom. The union has stated the language would give faculty greater say in how courses are delivered and evaluated.
Previous college strikes, in 1984, 1989, and 2006, were resolved in roughly three weeks, sparing students a lost academic year.