THUNDER BAY — Faculty at Ontario's colleges, including both Cambrian College and Collège Boréal in Sudbury, could start a work-to-rule campaign as early as this weekend.
The members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have voted 59 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
The union has also given five days notice of escalating job actions, accusing the colleges, represented by the College Employer Council, of bypassing negotiations by announcing its intention to impose a series of conditions on staff.
The CEC says that prior to the strike vote it announced it would introduce wage, benefit and other improvements, and doesn't understand why OPSEU's bargaining team issued an ultimatum that if new terms and conditions were introduced, it would launch a job action.
CEC said it believes "employees have waited long enough to receive wage increases and benefit enhancements. Introducing these improvements does not prohibit further negotiation."
But OPSEU President Warren Thomas said the council's move will create hard feelings and "sour the labour climate" at the colleges.
Key issues at stake include workload, job security and equity issues.
The previous contract expired Sept. 30, 2021.
OPSEU bargaining chair JP Hornick called the CEC's approach heavy-handed, saying "Unfortunately, the CEC has rejected faculty's offer to extend the existing collective agreement until at least Jan. 3 and have opted to impose terms and conditions."
Hornick also noted that these new terms are not final and can be changed in the coming months if the colleges choose to do so.
The College Employer Council said that since only 68 per cent of the 15,000 college staff members took part in the strike vote, and less than 60 per cent voted in favour, only about 40 per cent of faculty have actually voiced their support.
At Confederation College in Thunder Bay, OPSEU local president Rebecca Ward said union members are contracted to deliver very specific contracts in terms of their workload.
"But we go above and beyond all the time, everywhere, to ensure student success because that workload formula hasn't changed since 1985. So we're doing all kinds of things that aren't captured in our workloads because we care about our students," Ward said.
The union is demanding an improved mechanism for assessing workloads, more time to evaluate students, and preparation time for online instruction, among other measures.
Ward said union members have made it clear that working conditions must be addressed, "including inequities that are imbedded in the structure."
She added that 70 per cent of faculty across the province are contract staff, so "they have no permanency".
The CEC said despite its announcement of new terms and conditions for staff, including the maximum annual wage increase currently allowed by the Ontario government, it has not left the bargaining table.
"The CEC has been clear about the items we cannot agree to as well as the areas that still show room for common ground. With this ultimatum, [OPSEU] has told us once again that they are unwilling to move further on their demands," it said in a statement.
