TORONTO — The bargaining team for Ontario college faculty is recommending that the academic staff across the province turn down management's most recent contract offer.
Canadore faculty union local 657 president John Patterson told BayToday that the colleges are saying, "Basically here's your deal. 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.
"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."
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union started participating in a forced vote on that offer starting today (Tuesday.)
Last month the College Employer Council, which represents Confederation College and 23 other schools, asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to conduct a vote.
It will take place online from 9 a.m. Tuesday through to 3 p.m. Thursday.
OPSEU has said its negotiating team is "strongly advising" rejection of the offer.
In a statement last month, it said the offer includes only a slight change from the one tabled on Nov. 23, 2021.
"It also follows [their] decision to impose working conditions on faculty, rather than bargain a collective agreement that addresses faculty concerns around additional time with students and for online teaching, equity and precarious work," OPSEU said.
In December, 59 per cent of the members of the bargaining unit approved a strike mandate.
The colleges' bargaining team has maintained that its last offer "reasonably" addresses the areas of concern that the union has put forward.
BayToday reached out to Canadore President George Burton for comment but received no response.
