Stop distracting, start bargaining: we’re ready to make progress
On Friday, College Faculty voted to authorize strike action, if necessary, to reach a fair agreement. Through a historic turnout – 76.1% – 79% of voters delivered a strong mandate determined by a true majority of all members.
During talks, it was OPSEU/SEFPO that initially raised the prospect of a limited pause on any escalation by both parties following the strike vote, so that we could continue discussions in conciliation, and ensure that negotiations could continue without risk to student’s semesters. We even agreed to mediation (not binding interest arbitration) as a potential solution to help both sides move closer on key issues.
Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the CEC has mischaracterized these recent events, breaking confidentiality, and announcing an offer of interest arbitration following the democratic decision of faculty members to deliver a strong strike mandate. They are pushing dangerous concessions, and they know that moving to binding interest arbitration at this point would be the easiest way to achieve their agenda – including the loss of asynchronous teaching hours, dramatic cuts to assigned evaluation and preparation hours, new probationary language for partial-load faculty, and dramatic changes to the academic year.
Accepting binding interest arbitration would give up our right to strike and sacrifice our ability to stand behind faculty proposals through member-driven bargaining.
As said in 2021 by Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC, “In a labour relations context, the parties have the fundamental obligation to bargain. Delegating that obligation to an arbitrator abdicates our shared responsibility.”
The CEC’s announcement is a knee jerk reaction to college faculty making history with the biggest show of collective power to date. With the CEC on their backfoot, they hope we will all blink. However, our focus is clear: bargaining for a fair, negotiated settlement that does not sacrifice hard-fought rights, and which achieves real gains to our wages and working conditions.
Please read the latest bargaining update here: Stop distracting, start bargaining: we’re ready to make progress