“It’s a dirty trick.”

Lad Shaba, the OPSEU representative for Northern College, didn’t mince words in response to the College Employer Council’s latest release accusing OPSEU for stonewalling the bargaining process.

Ontario colleges announced today that they have asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to schedule a vote on the colleges’ offer.

Shaba says the CEC could have done this before the strike started on October 15th.

He adds the call last week to return to the bargaining table was nothing more than “a publicity stunt.”

“(The CEC) were not really working hard at the negotiating table to bring this strike to an end,” Shaba told Rogers Media Monday.

In addition, the CEC is calling on OPSEU to suspend their strike to allow the OLRB to organize that very vote—which would take up to 10 days—and let students back into the classrooms.

Under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act, votes by unionized college employees must be supervised by the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), meaning OLRB staff must be in attendance for votes at more than 100 campuses across the province.

For context, a strike vote by college faculty in September took two weeks to organize and complete.

Shaba says not to count on faculty to suspend the strike.

JP Hornick, the chair of the OPSEU faculty bargaining team echoed Shaba’s sentiments.

“We have said all along that faculty have a better plan for the colleges, and we do,” said Hornick. “Our objective since we began bargaining in July has been to improve education quality for students and fairness for faculty.”

“Today, our better plan is this: If the colleges come to the table now and bargain a settlement that our team can recommend, we can have faculty back in the classrooms tomorrow and hold the ratification vote after.”

Hornick said the only issue in dispute now is a no-cost item about faculty making decisions about what’s best in their classrooms.

She says council, however, has insisted on keeping serious concessions in to undermine the progress that had been made at the table.

“Negotiation is the only way to go at this juncture,” added OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas.

“I agree completely with recent statements by the Premier and by Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews that the solution to this strike is at the bargaining table,” he said. “The strike has gone on long enough, and we don’t need employer-caused delays making it go even longer.”

The CEC claims OPSEU has “stonewalled the bargaining process” and refused to accept an offer that addresses their priorities.

“OPSEU’s insistence on continuing the strike is a terrible outcome for students and faculty,” said Sonia Del Missier, Chair, Colleges’ Bargaining Team. “We addressed all faculty priorities and the offer that is available for faculty right now – on the table – should have ended this strike.”

So where do we go from here? The Labour Board is reportedly determining the vote date.

“An employer vote is never a preferred path, because a settlement should be reached at the bargaining table. But we have exhausted all efforts at the bargaining table and now our faculty will decide,” said Ms. Del Missier.

Filed under: Local News