COLLEGE EMPLOYER COUNCIL
Ontario Public Colleges Shocked by OPSEU Escalation During Mediation

The College Employer Council (CEC) entered mediation with OPSEU, representing full-time and partial-load professors, instructors, and librarians. At the end of the three days, both parties agreed to extend mediation and meet again on January 6-7, 2025.

On December 12, the OPSEU academic bargaining team has decided to request a no board report from the Ministry of Labour despite agreeing to continued mediation only a few days ago. A no board report will put OPSEU and its members in a strike position early in the new year.

"A strike at Ontario's Colleges is wholly unnecessary and causes uncertainty, and disruption for students and faculty in a time of financial instability," said Graham Lloyd, CEO of CEC. "Throughout this bargaining process our goal has remained the same: We want to keep our students learning and faculty in the classroom. That is why we initially proposed binding arbitration and continue to urge OPSEU to agree. We do not know why they would prefer to disrupt student learning."

"This move from the academic bargaining team is deeply disappointing, especially at a time when students are busy studying for exams." said Dr. Laurie Rancourt, Chair of the management bargaining team. "Students and faculty should not have to endure unneeded stress at this time of year, particularly considering the Union is making demands it knows the Colleges can never agree to, such as reducing their class time by 25%, to less than 9 hours per week".

OPSEU's demands represent vast reductions in classroom teaching time,and a maximum of 29 weeks of available teaching time in a year. Less teaching time doesn't improve student success. OPSEU's last offer of settlement amounts to more than $1 billion in new annual costs which represents an increase of more than 55% of total academic costs to the Colleges.

The union's demands ignore the stark reality faced by Ontario Colleges, who are projected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years due to a combination of declining enrolment and higher costs. Some Ontario Colleges have already suspended academic programs and reduced staff due to this new financial reality.

While CEC has made every effort to address OPSEU's concerns and recognize the hard work of faculty through our proposals, we cannot accept terms that would jeopardize our students, faculty, and the future of the sector. The CEC remains committed to a solution without interrupting student learning. We urge OPSEU to reconsider their approach in favour of an outcome that is fair and sustainable for everyone.