OPSEU Local 138 president at St. Clair College Bernie Nawrocki, far left, speaks with picketing faculty at St. Clair Colleges main Windsor campus, November 8, 2017. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.OPSEU Local 138 president at St. Clair College Bernie Nawrocki, far left, speaks with picketing faculty at St. Clair Colleges main Windsor campus, November 8, 2017. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
Windsor

Arbitration Award Coming For College Faculty

The final chapter in the Ontario college strike is about to be written.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents faculty at all of Ontario's 24 community colleges, announced in a statement Sunday an arbitrator's award will be coming this week.

The statement also said that the union and the colleges' bargaining team had been in mediation from Thursday to Saturday. Upon conclusion, arbitration took place.

The award issued by the arbitrator will be the basis of a new collective bargaining agreement for the college faculty, officially ending the labour dispute.

Binding arbitration takes place when both sides agree to present their arguments to an independent third party in a final effort to settle a dispute. The arbitrator's ruling is binding and final, with no appeal.

The dispute involved about 12,000 college faculty, who walked off the job on October 16 in a dispute over wages, job security and input into program curriculum. The five-week strike disrupted the fall semester at colleges such as St. Clair College in Windsor and Chatham, Fanshawe College in London and Lambton College in Sarnia. Over half-a-million students were affected.

Faculty returned to work on November 21 after the Ontario legislature passed back-to-work legislation.

The arbitrator has imposed a media blackout until the award is announced.

 

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