A work-to-rule job action continues at Canadore College as faculty continue to work without a contract since September 30 of last year.
The faculty started the legal labour action, province-wide, on December 18.
Canadore College Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 657 president John Patterson told BayToday that negotiations on a new contract started July 1 last year and there was "very little progress made during negotiations."
The College Employer Council (CEC), which represents Ontario colleges in the negotiations, agreed to mediation, but that only lasted a month. "Nothing really came out of mediation," explains Patterson. On the first days CEC "refused to engage in any more mediation" and asked the concilliator for a no board report.
After a “no board” report is issued, the terms and conditions of collective agreements are frozen for a 16 day period.
But Patterson says even before the report was issued the CEC decided to impose their own terms and conditions, which means technically faculty don't have a contract.
"They've imposed terms of working conditions," he said.
A province-wide strike vote by OPSEU passed by close to 59 per cent.
The CEC has now imposed a "forced offer vote" which compels the union to conduct a vote on the latest management offer.
See the final offer here.
"It's basically here's your deal," says Patterson. "They have one shot at doing this and then if we reject it we're in the same situation of continuing with work to rule."
The faculty bargaining team is recommending that the academic staff across the province turn down management's most recent contract offer. That vote started Tuesday and is slated to continue until 3 p.m. Thursday.
See the negotiation timeline here.
Patterson is hoping the work to rule doesn't turn into a strike. but that is a possibility he says.
"We're certainly hoping that it doesn't. We want to reject this offer because it is not a good one and we'd like them to come back to the table. We're not finished negotiating. There are just a few things that need to be resolved."
Sticking points include contracting out of faculty work, no job protection for partial-load employees, and workload issues.
"The workload formula was created in 1985 and hasn't been updated," says Patterson."This predates computers, predates email!
"It's a tough time, to be honest. People are tired. The last two years have been pretty exhausting...then having to shift to online teaching and getting no recognition for that. Our work has changed. Let's get properly compensated for that. I think that rubs people the wrong way and colleges have no interest in giving us credit for that. That's pretty frustrating. I see that as very important."
Patterson admits a work to rule action is "a little trickier" during a pandemic when much is online.
"We're encouraging people not to go over time. If you have X number of hours for marking, then that's all you do. You don't keep marking all weekend."
Faculty are also refusing to sit on committees or do extra volunteer work, such as open houses.
The union has offered to go to binding arbitration "to deescalate the situation" says Patterson. "Let's put it to the arbitrator and we'll accept what the arbitrator says."
Patterson believes the concept of community colleges is slowly disappearing, noting Canadore now has thousands of international students.
"Things have really changed. Canadore has the biggest percentage of international students in the province. I|t's massive. We have thousands and thousands.
"Colleges rely heavily on part-time precarious contract faculty that get used and abused. Full time faculty now only make up half, or 120 of the faculty at the college, the rest being part-time.
BayToday reached out to Canadore President George Burton for management comment, but got no response.
See: Forced contract vote by Ontario college faculty, including Canadore, started today
