January 06, 2010
By Brent Davis, Record staff

With only a week left before a strike vote that could send about 9,000 college teachers onto picket lines at 24 campuses across Ontario, both sides admit they’re not optimistic about a return to the bargaining table.

“The short answer is there’s really not much to report on” since negotiations broke off in mid-December, said Greg Hamara, spokesperson for the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union.

“We’re quite a ways apart on the overall package,” said Don Sinclair, executive director for the council representing the colleges. “Really, it’s now in the hands of our faculty to decide if there’s going to be a strike.”

Caught in the middle are students like Jason Paul, in the first year of a public relations program at Conestoga College.

“A lot of students are really stressed out about what’s going to happen,” Paul said. “Since I’m a first-year, I’m not quite sure what to expect.”

In an effort to inform students about a possible strike, a Facebook site called Ontario College Students Against A Strike was launched by a Humber College student, and boasts nearly 18,000 members. However, only about 3,000 people have signed an online petition opposing a strike and encouraging both sides to find a solution.

“One of the most important things for students right now is to be informed,” said Paul.

The creator of the Facebook site, Graeme McNaughton, has invited students to participate in a one-day, provincewide walkout on Jan. 12, the day before the strike vote.

Paul said he will lead the walkout at Conestoga, during which students intend to hand copies of the petition to union and administration representatives.

If there’s a strike, Paul said he hopes the term would be extended into the summer.

“Nobody wants the term to be cancelled because no one wants to stay in school an extra year,” he said. “I have a daughter to take care of.”

But a summer extension could also disrupt employment opportunities for students.

Hamara said the union maintains it’s prepared to return to the table “providing there’s a good prospect for progress.”

Sinclair said the council has presented its best offer, and says the union’s demands, which include salary and benefit increases, reduced work hours and more full-time positions, would cost an additional $218 million a year.

The union has said the cost is closer to $20 million. Regardless, Hamara said the union is more concerned with issues of workload and academic freedom.

“We’ve never felt that the wage and benefit issue is an impediment to a settlement,” he said.

Sinclair urged students to talk to their teachers about their concerns, and he urged all faculty members to cast their vote. “It rests with them,” he said.

If they vote to strike, the union must give five days’ notice to the employer, meaning the earliest a work stoppage could take place is Jan. 19, Sinclair said.

bdavis@therecord.com