The bargaining team representing Ontario college faculty called for a strike vote to protect its members from ending up a vulnerable legal position amid collective agreement negotiations.
Students would not have to be concerned about any disturbance to their classes in the immediate future. The union, OPSEU, announced its decision Friday but no date or dates have been set for its members spanning 24 colleges across the province.
No action can be taken for 17 days after a “no-board” report is issued by the labour minister. This report has not yet been released but is expected in the next few days.
Once the 17-day period is up, there is a five-day countdown to a lockout, strike or imposed “terms and conditions” where the faculty would be required to work until a new contract is negotiated, either at the bargaining table or through arbitration.
“A successful strike vote is faculty’s only recourse in the face of imposition — our right to resist imposed terms and conditions is limited without it,” the union statement said.
Talks had only just restarted between College Employer Council and CAAT-A with a government-appointed conciliator present when the CEC rejected the union bargaining team’s proposals.
MORE TO COME.