Last week student unions from eight of the 24 colleges shuttered by a faculty strike signed an open letter to the province, calling on the government to intervene. In the letter, they said if the strike wasn’t resolved by Oct. 26, they would head to Queen’s Park.
With the strike still on, eight student leaders, including one from Fanshawe College, have travelled to Toronto for a midday meeting with Advanced Education Minister Deb Matthews.
Speaking Wednesday, Matthews said she understands the frustration college students are feeling over the ongoing labour dispute that has cancelled classes but says the province needs to let the collective bargaining process work.
There have been no talks between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the College Employer Council since Oct. 15 when 12,000 college instructors, counsellors and librarians walked off the job.
While the province has said it will not get involved in the strike, OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas has a different idea.
“The premier can say to the employer’s side ‘well all right, explain your issues to me, get back to that table, open your mind up a little bit, and do some of the things that the workforce is saying would make education better.’ A lot of these things don’t cost any money,” said Thomas.
If there’s no resolution, the eight student leaders will be attending a rally planned by the College Students Alliance, an independent umbrella group for Ontario’s college attendees, next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, OPSEU local 110, the chapter representing Fanshawe College’s 800 striking faculty, has their own rally planned in London Thursday morning.
“She is not an innocent bystander in this.”
The union has asked that the number of full-time faculty match the number of faculty members on contract.
It also called for improvements in job security, and for faculty to have a stronger voice in academic decision making.
“We’re expecting a lot of people. We’re going to be loud and we’re going to send that message. We want to get back to bargaining. We’re ready, willing and able. Any time that call comes, we’ll meet at the table,” said Bedford.
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