Union, colleges heading back to the table

Nov 1, 2017 | Campus News

By: Ed Hitchins

The College Employer Council has asked a provincial government appointed mediator to ask the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) to come back to the negotiation table Thursday morning in efforts to end the college faculty strike.

OPSEU workers walked off the job Oct. 15, leaving about half a million students at Ontario’s 24 colleges in the out of the classrooms.

Negotiations have been at a standstill since the strike was called, and this could be the first step towards a new agreement between the two parties.

Chair of the Council’s bargaining team, Sonia Del Missier, released a statement regarding the recommendation to get both parties back to the table.

“This strike has gone on for too long,” she said. “We need to end the strike and get our students and faculty back in the classroom. We can reach a settlement quickly and have classes start again early next week.”

“We will focus our efforts at the table and work very hard to reach a deal that ends the strike.”