Faculty members at Ontario colleges have voted in favour of strike action

Key takeaways:

• According to OPSEU/SEFPO, 59 percent of faculty members who voted in a strike vote on Saturday wanted to act in response to contract demands.

Faculty members at colleges across Ontario, including Conestoga College, have voted to strike.

The faculty union, OPSEU/SEFPO, said that 59 percent of members who voted in a strike vote on Saturday wanted to take action in response to contract demands.

They were members of the Ontario College Faculty, a union of 15,000 professors, counselors, librarians, and instructors.

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Faculty will not strike, according to Jason Baryluk, director of advocacy at the College Student Alliance, but will instead start with a work-to-rule campaign.

“The term “work-to-rule” simply means that classes will resume. They’ll simply carry out their duties to the letter of their contract, “he stated, “The only thing you should be aware of is that marking may take longer and office hours may be reduced because faculty will adhere to their contractual work hours.”

Job action could escalate to a strike if the College Employer Council (CEC) does not return to the negotiating table, according to Baryluk, but that is unlikely to happen until at least the spring.

According to the union, since late September, about 15,000 faculty members have been without contracts.

More stability for contract employees and better workload management solutions are among the demands.

In a statement released on Saturday, union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said, “Our members are sending a clear message that they want to see a negotiated settlement.”

“I’m confident we can reach an agreement,” he said, “so let’s get back to the negotiating table and get it.”

Source: CBC News

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