The College Employer Council has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to bring its latest offer to academic college employees to a vote.
The council, which represents 24 Ontario public colleges, has been in negotiations with the Ontario Public Service Employee Union since July 2021. In October the sides met with a mediator but the mediator terminated the session when he found the two sides were too far apart to reach an agreement.
A no board report was issued in November after the groups met with a conciliator and few changes were made.
"Today, the CEC has asked the OLRB to hold a vote for College unionized academic employee members to vote on its most recent offer. Additionally, we urge OPSEU to keep their promise to put students' needs first by not escalating the labour dispute. We ask that they allow College faculty to continue working until the results of the employer vote come in, especially given the modest 59 per cent strike mandate result," said Chair of the CEC Management Bargaining team Dr. Laurie Rancourt.
The council presented its latest offer to the union in December.
"We are asking academic employees to look at our offer and recognize that we've reasonably addressed the areas of concern their bargaining team put forward. This includes introducing mechanisms for joint investigation and collaboration to improve conditions in key areas. A vote yes is a vote for labour stability and a vote to put students and their education first," said CEO of CEC Graham Lloyd.
The offer includes creating working groups for three main issues that include workload, EDI, and Indigeneity in the Colleges. The offer also includes a maximum annual wage increase as currently allowed under Bill 124.
Full details can be found here.
