Ontario college faculty members file for conciliation

Management refuses to consider proposed improvements: OPSEU

Ontario college faculty members file for conciliation
The 12,000 college faculty represented by OPSEU are using the context of the college system's 50th anniversary to propose a better plan for colleges, according to OPSEU. GOOGLE STREET VIEW

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has asked the Ministry of Labour to appoint a conciliator in its contract negotiations with the College Employer Council.

The union was left with no choice after the refusal of the management bargaining team to discuss proposals to address the top concerns of faculty, said JP Hornick, chair of the bargaining team for OPSEU's college academic division.

"While the management team claims in their public communications to be seeking integrity in negotiations and a positive relationship between the union and management, their actions say the opposite," said Hornick. "When we proposed a better plan for academic decision-making through collegial governance, they refused to even consider it, despite the fact the very model we were proposing is already in place and functioning at Sheridan College.

Conciliation is an important step in bargaining: if it fails, either side can start the clock ticking towards a legal strike or lockout deadline, said the union.

The 12,000 college faculty represented by OPSEU are using the context of the college system's 50th anniversary to propose a better plan for colleges, one that will improve academic quality while addressing fairness for faculty, including the large number trapped in precarious part-time and contract positions, according to OPSEU.

"College faculty have a long history of providing quality education to their students," said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU president. "Their proposals will ensure our colleges continue to provide the high-quality education that has supported the economic and social growth of our province over the last five decades."

The collective agreement for college faculty expires on Sept. 30, 2017.

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