Almost two weeks into a strike by more than 10,000 workers at Ontario’s public colleges, the government is urging the two sides to try to find a solution to several major differences that remain.
On Sept. 11, support workers at Ontario’s 24 public sector colleges walked off the job after the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) failed to get close to a deal with the College Employer Council (CEC).
The two sides found themselves at odds over a request from the union for a pledge not to close or merge college campuses or reduce staff numbers. The request came after 18 months, during which at least 8,000 college workers have been laid off and 600 programs closed.
The College Employer Council called the demands a “poison pill,” which it said it simply could not promise to the union and urged them to reconsider the demand.
On Tuesday, OPSEU issued a statement asking for the head of CEC, Graham Lloyd, to return to the negotiating table, accusing the organization of trying to negotiate in the media instead of across the table.
“Instead of meeting with us to discuss concerns with our proposals — a goalpost which shifts week by week — Graham Lloyd is on a destructive PR tour making sure we don’t reach a deal,” Christine Kelsey, chair of the full-time support staff bargaining team, said in a statement.
“He is undermining our legal right to fair and transparent negotiations.”
The day before, the CEC issued a statement saying there were “no further dates set for negotiations,” repeating its request for the union to drop four of its demands.
“The most frustrating part for colleges is OPSEU’s demands going into bargaining were already impossible,” Lloyd said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Ford government, which is ultimately responsible for Ontario’s 24 colleges, said a mediator had been tasked with helping the two sides come to a deal.
“A ministry-appointed mediator has been assigned to the negotiations between CEC and OPSEU and is ready to work with the parties,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Colleges, Universities and Research Excellence said in a statement.
“The best deals are made at the table, and should the parties return to the table, the mediator is available to support a fair resolution between OPSEU and the CEC. We remain hopeful that all parties reach a fair deal that puts students first.”
The ministry said a conciliator and then a mediator had been available to both sides since August.