For the second time in just four years, Ontario’s 24 public universities appear to potentially be on the cusp of a job stoppage.
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) will vote Dec. 9-11, but local Union President Grant Currie, who represents St. Lawrence College faculty and counselors, says a strike is the last resort teachers hope to avoid.
“We believe there will be a strong mandate for a strike, but that does not mean that a strike will occur,” Currie explained.
“We fight to say that faculty across the province believe in this agenda proposed by our negotiation team and we hope that it will send a message to the College Employer Council to come back to the table and negotiate the best for students. and what is best for the faculty. ”
Currie says he does not anticipate the union choosing to strike, and says the Council of University Employers (CEC), either blocking professors or unilaterally imposing terms and conditions of employment, would be the most likely scenario.
Much of the sticking point in the negotiations has centered on addressing equity and indigenization, on school counselors, the use of materials produced by teachers, and adjusting the workload arrangement for staff.
Currie says the current workload agreement was negotiated in 1984 and has only seen minor adjustments since then.
Specifically, teachers want the assessment time for each student to be increased from 5 minutes and 24 seconds per week to 7 minutes and 12 seconds per week for a 3-hour course.
In a written statement to YGK News, Board Executive Director Graham Lloyd says the union “seeks immediate changes, such as those to the workload formula, with resulting cost increases that are prohibited by Bill 124. “.
Since the gulf between the two parties seemed too great to bridge, the team of teachers offered a binding interest voluntary arbitration in front of arbitrator William Kaplan.
However, the CEC disagreed with that and instead proposed Final Bid Selection, leading to Kaplan selecting one side or the other in its entirety.
On a November 25 letter To the chairman and chairman of union bargaining, Lloyd says on behalf of the CEC that the union should have no problem with this style of arbitration over what they claim are reasonable, moderate and necessary demands.
“Assuming those claims accurately reflect the CAAT-A team’s confidence in their claims,” Lloyd writes.
“We are confident that he will be prepared to present them fully to Referee Kaplan.”
Currie says that this type of negotiation leads to toxic employment relationships, leaving no room for compromise between the two parties.
“It’s basically a coin toss,” Currie said.
“It’s one or the other and I don’t think it is of any use to students or universities.”
Both sides have maintained that they are negotiating with the best interests of the students in mind and hope to avoid a strike or lockout.
In addition, the Canadian Federation of Students wrote a letter in support of the faculty negotiations, they say they aim at improving the university education system.
A strike could affect students during the winter semester, with the 16th being the first possible day, but Currie says the negotiating team is unlikely to declare a strike date and hopes to reach a fair deal.
Reference-ygknews.ca