It will be back to work today for Ontario’s college faculty.
After a special weekend sitting legislation passed yesterday forcing the end of the college strike, 500,000 students province-wide, including 3,500 Canadore College students, will be back in class Tuesday.
Students will still have time to finish the semester but will have to cut their holiday break short. The province says students facing financial pressure because of the longer semester will be able to apply for assistance.
The colleges and the union representing faculty failed to reach an agreement and teachers voted overwhelmingly late last week to reject an offer, forcing the government to step in. The NDP repeatedly blocked the legislation tabled by Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government, pushing sessions at Queen’s Park into the weekend.
The Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Labour Dispute Resolution Act, 2017 governs the labour dispute between the College Employer Council and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) college academic unit.
All outstanding issues are to be referred to binding mediation-arbitration. The College Employer Council and OPSEU have five days to agree on a mediator-arbitrator, or one will be appointed by the Minister of Labour.
The government has also instructed colleges to establish a dedicated fund with net savings from the strike. The fund will be used to support students who have experienced financial hardships as a result of the strike, and its parameters will be developed in direct consultation with students.
