Humber Strike: Faculty strike to affect University of Guelph-Humber

Oct 12, 2017 | Campus News

Students sit by the living-wall at the University of Guelph-Humber campus. (Junisha Dama)

By: Junisha Dama

With an Ontario Colleges faculty strike set to possibly begin on Oct. 16, students at the University of Guelph-Humber learned this morning that the strike would affect their class schedules as well.

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) gave the colleges the required five days notice on Tuesday, informing them of the plan to stop work on Mon. Oct. 16 at 12:01 a.m. The strike will include all full-time and part-time faculty from Humber College who also teach at Guelph-Humber. It will suspend all full-time, continuing education, hybrid, online and corporate training classes at the university.

“I heard it this morning in the hallways,” said Alicia Cacioppo, a second-year Criminal Justice student who said that she has not seen any formal communication from the university yet.

“Some of our faculty teach at Humber College as well. I thought only those classes might be affected, but the website says all classes are suspended, so I’m not sure what’s going on,” adds Cacioppo. The university posted an informational bulletin on their website on Thursday, which is exactly the same as the one posted by Humber College.

UofGH students are informed in the bulletin that they can continue field and clinical placements, and activities involving work study will be carried out as planned.

The university’s campus will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for students to access. Several other student services like the international centre, learning resource commons, health services, among others will be available for students.

It’s not clear how long the strike might last or when classes might resume. International students may have to extend their study visas if the semester gets extended. Additionally, international students cannot work full-time during the strike but can work part-time.

Furthermore, the university expects picket lines at the campus entrance and has advised students to expect delays while entering or exiting campus.

Students who may have questions can check the university’s website.