Labour Update: No-Board Report Issued

Today, December 18, 2024, the Ministry of Labour issued the no-board report to the CAAT-A bargaining team.

This means that by January 4^, 2025, the Union will be in a position to notify or start labour action (if they provide the Colleges notice December 29, 2024) of upcoming labour action, such as a strike, if they choose.

Mediation is scheduled for January 6 & 7, 2025. While the union will be in a legal strike position, there remains the possibility for mediation to continue or alternative forms of negotiations such as binding arbitration to occur.

We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached with the CAAT-A bargaining team to provide stability for students, employees, and the greater College community.

FAQ

Q) Can you provide a timeline of events between CAAT-A and CEC?

• Bargaining started in July 2024.
• On Wednesday September 18 the CAAT-A bargaining team announced their intention to seek a strike vote and conciliation.
• Conciliation took place October 9, 15, 28, and November 5, 2024.
• Management requested binding arbitration on October 15, 2024.
• The Union strike vote took place between October 15-18, 2024.
• The Union received a strike mandate on October 18, 2024.
• The parties entered into non-binding mediation December 6-8, 2024
• OPSEU CAAT-A files for No-board Report December 12.
• The parties have agreed to continue mediation January 6-7, 2025
• No-Board report issued from the Ministry of Labour on December 18, 2024

Q) How did you determine January 4, 2025, as the date for possible labour action?

• The no-board report was issued on December 18, 2024.
• A 16-day cooling period takes the Colleges and Union to January 4, 2025.
• The 16-day period is counted in calendar days and statutory holidays are not excluded.
• Before the Union can engage in labour action they must provide the Colleges with 5 days’ notice. This can occur concurrently with the 16-day cooling period.
• If the CAAT-A bargaining team provides the Colleges notice on December 29, 2024, they could engage in labour action on January 4, 2025.

Q) Will there be a strike in the winter semester?

• We hope there will be no strike. Only the union control whether it will call for a strike. The CEC remains committed to finding a solution to negotiations that will not impact students.
• We want to avoid any interruption to student learning.

 Q) What is required for a strike?

• Before a strike can occur, 5 requirements must be met. Not all requirements have been met at this time.

Q) What are the other/ alternative types of negotiation?

• An example is binding interest arbitration where an agreed upon neutral third-party arbitrator makes decisions if the parties can’t come up with a compromise.
• Interest arbitration has been used in the past two academic rounds of negotiations.

Q) When will I find out about a strike?

• If the Union decides to take its members on a strike, they must first provide the Colleges with 5 days’ notice.
• Once the Colleges receive notice, they will then communicate to students, employees, and the greater College community.
• Notice will be available on your College website.

 Q) What is no-board report?

• A no board report recognizes that the parties are at an impasse (which means negotiations are not working) and that a conciliator could not help.
• Requesting a no-board report is a step in the negotiations process.
• 16 days after a no board report is issued, the previous collective agreement (The agreement with between the Colleges and the faculty union) is no longer binding.
• This means that the Union could give notice of labour action and engage in a strike.
• The CEC can also choose to change terms of the existing collective agreement or lock-out employees (Colleges have never locked employees out).

Q) Does labour action mean a strike?

• Labour action does mean a strike. Strike action can take various forms, which include: work-to-rule, partial walk-out, rotating strike, all the way up to a full walk out.
• Only the Union can determine what forms of strike action will occur and when.

 Q) What are the different forms of strike?

• Work-to-rule, partial walk-out, rotating strike, and full walk-out are all forms of strike.
• In work-to-rule, employees perform only the duties that have been assigned, strictly adhering to policy and contract obligations.
• In a partial walk-out, employees refuse to perform some of their assigned duties.  
• In a rotating strike, employees walk out entirely for short periods of time at different institutions.
• In a full walk-out strike, employees withdraw all their services and choose to walk the picket line.

 Q) Will the Colleges force faculty to go on a full walk-out strike?

• The Colleges cannot force faculty to go on strike.
• Only the Union team can determine what form of strike action it engages in (work-to-rule, partial walk-out, rotating strikes, walk-out).

 Q) How long will a strike last?

• They can last for a day or for an extended period of time.
• In 2017, the Union engaged in a full walk-out strike that lasted for more than 5 weeks. Students were still able to complete their semester.

Q) If a strike occurs, what should I do?

• Go to your College website for updates on the labour dispute.
• If you plan to visit campus, leave extra time for travelling to the college as picket lines may be set up at campus entrances and limit traffic flow.

Q)Where can I learn more about negotiations and strike action?

• The CEC website contains information on the bargaining process and an ongoing archive of proposals from both parties.
• Additionally, all news updates are published across CEC social media channels and the website.
• Please visit CollegeEmployerCouncil.ca or follow the CEC on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.