WATCH ABOVE: University Pres. Meric Gertler said at a news conference Wednesday that the university has proposed binding arbitration to end the strike as soon as possible.
TORONTO – The University of Toronto is proposing binding arbitration as a way to end the labour disruption at the school.
Teaching assistants have been on strike at U of T since February and have rejected multiple contract offers.
Binding arbitration would get teaching assistants back to work immediately and Meric Gertler, the school’s president, said he thinks it’s the most expeditious way of resuming classes.
“We will be working very hard with our departments and all three campuses… to ensure that our students can complete their year on time,” Gertler said.
“We are proposing binding arbitration as a way to end this strike now.”
Binding arbitration would involve an independent, neutral third party, appointed by the provincial mediator, to arbitrate with all parties until a resolution can be found.
But Curtis Forbes, a member of the CUPE bargaining team, said they were presented with this offer at approximately noon Wednesday, giving them a 5 p.m. deadline. The union said no, and counter-offered with a deal they say would have had them back in the classroom by Saturday.
“We recognize that what the university wants is exactly what we want; We want everybody back in the classroom teaching the classes as soon as possible,” Forbes said.
Forbes explained union bylaws prevent them from calling an emergency meeting for anything other than a tentative deal.
“But because we’re a democratic institution we couldn’t, as a six-person bargaining team, make that unilateral decision to go to binding arbitration after our members have given us such strong mandates before that.”
More to come.
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