OPSEU rejects Ontario colleges’ improved offer and arbitration

On the eve of a declared strike, the College Employer Council (CEC) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) have failed to reach a renewal collective agreement. Full-time support staff at Ontario colleges are now in a position to strike.

The CEC enhanced its offer to the union bargaining team on September 9, while the union insisted on its “poison pill” demands that make a deal impossible. At a time when college enrolments and revenues are down by as much as 50 per cent, OPSEU continues to insist on demands that are fiscally impossible.

“A complete ban on campus closures, college mergers and staff reductions could force colleges into bankruptcy,” said CEC’s CEO Graham Lloyd. “CEC has repeatedly advised OPSEU that these types of demands simply can never be agreed to. They are more about broader political campaigns than the benefits we have proposed at the table for their members."

The CEC’s final proposal built on a previous offer of more than $145 million of wage and benefit improvements to the collective agreement. The additions included:

• Enhanced vision and hearing benefits equal to those of academic staff
• Improvements to job security regarding new technology
• Introduced paid leave for domestic and sexual violence  

The CEC’s offer is in addition to what was previously offered and includes:

1. Wage increases of 2 per cent in each year of the contract
2. Increased on-call premiums by 75 per cent
3. Increased shift premiums by 67 and 75 per cent
4. Enhanced employment stability committee rights
5. Enhanced vacation carryover rights
6. Increased recall rights by 50 per cent (to 18 months)
7. Severance enhancements increased by 50 per cent for employees laid off due to the current financial crisis facing the system
8. Guaranteeing employee rights to disconnect from work
9. Removal of CEC proposals that the union communicated as concessionary

“Our offer remains on the table for the union to consider,” said Lloyd. “We remain far apart on a number of important issues and we strongly encourage the union to agree to mediation/arbitration to help us reach an agreement.”

CEC once again urges OPSEU to accept interest arbitration to avoid any disruption in student learning. Arbitration worked for the Academic union earlier this year. It can work now for support staff and ensure no disruption to student learning.