Tag: Ontario College Strike

In a previous blog post, we discuss the call for a strike that Ontario’s colleges faculty members will vote for in the fall, after rejecting a 7.5% wage hike offered by the Ontario government. Now, they are back to negotiating after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Ontario’s colleges are back at the bargaining table today, as the strike deadline of October 15^th approaches. The talks have been put on hiatus at the end of September after no progress was made.

The union represents “full-time professors as well as “partial load” instructors who teach between seven and 12 hours a week, as well as college counsellors and librarians,” and the last offer that was received from the colleges provided a 7.5 per cent raise over four years, as well as improvements to benefits and a lump-sum payment which they did not accept.

CEO of the college council, Don Sinclair, has reassured students that the colleges are concerned and will provide updates as they become available.

In this case, the government has indicated that, before any strike vote, that the faculty union members vote on the last offer they have received. Employers usually have this right, stored under s. 42 of the Labour Relations Act, which says:

1. (1) Before or after the commencement of a strike or lock-out, the employer of the employees in the affected bargaining unit may request that a vote of the employees be taken as to the acceptance or rejection of the offer of the employer last received by the trade union in respect of all matters remaining in dispute between the parties and the Minister shall, and in the construction industry the Minister may, on the terms that he or she considers necessary direct that a vote of the employees to accept or reject the offer be held and thereafter no further such request shall be made.

The ability for the employer to call for a vote is a tactic of last resort—and can only be done once. In fact, in 2010, when the current collective agreement was signed, colleges used s. 42 to call for a vote, which approved the agreement with a slim majority. Only time will tell to see if this strategy will pay off for a second time, or if both parties will be forced to return to the bargaining table.

Devry Smith Frank LLP is a full service law firm that has a very experienced group of lawyers within our employee and labour law groups. If you are in need of representation, please contact one of our lawyers today or call us directly at 416-449-1400.

By: Nicolas Di Nardo

“This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.”