Talks between Ontario colleges and unionized faculty underway

By Marc Venema

Most of the big issues have yet to hit the table as Ontario colleges and unionized faculty begin work on a new contract agreement.

“We don’t have all the management’s package yet,” said Carolyn Gaunt of OPSEU’s bargaining team. “We don’t have their monetary stuff so all the cards aren’t out on the table yet.”

The first meeting between OPSEU, which represents faculty at Ontario colleges, and the College Employer Council, which represents the colleges, was held on June 4. The two sides have again met since then as they begin to negotiate a new contract. The current contract expires August 31, just days before classes begin.

Gaunt said although not everything has been put on the table yet, she believes they’re on the right track.

“We certainly haven’t seen anything at this point that indicates we wouldn’t.”

Gaunt said one of the big issues for faculty is staffing.

“A lot more teachers are part-time,” Gaunt said. “One of our concerns across the province is that full-time jobs are still available. One of the things that happens is colleges do less replacing when people retire.”

Gaunt wants that to change. She also said smaller schools, like Loyalist College, face even tougher challenges when it comes to staffing.

“There’s uneven hiring across the system,” Gaunt said. “The smaller colleges have more budget pressure so they do a lot less hiring of full-time people.”

Another issue that Gaunt said would be negotiated is online teaching and how many hours professors are credited in online courses.

The two sides will meet again next week.