Conestoga students and faculty prepare for potential strike

Students and faculty at Conestoga College campuses in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph are preparing for a potential strike Monday.

The union representing Ontario's 24 public colleges set a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 16 after it said the bargaining team for the colleges walked away from negotiations.

• Faculty at Ontario's public colleges set Monday strike deadline
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'Not a good situation'

College President John Tibbitsagreed that the loomingstrike deadline was "not a good situation for students" and told The Morning Edition's Craig Norris that he is disappointed in the union's decision.

"I think they've been on a collision course from day one," he said. "I would say start thinking about the students, start thinking about why you're here."

If faculty did strike, he said the job action would certainly disrupt class time.

"We can't have students trying to cross picket lines to reach classrooms," he said. "So it'll be very difficult to be offering face to face class activities while a strike is on."

In the case of a strike, Tibbitssaid the college would remain open, along with the library and recreation centre, but he reiterated that it would be difficult to offer classes.

Strike deadline set

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents full-time and contract faculty at Conestoga College, has organized an information meeting for Thursday evening at Moose Lodge in Kitchenerfor its members.

Members of the provincial bargaining team will be on hand to answer questions about the negotiations, the issues, and the potential strike.

"I like to think that a strike is always something that you use simply fora tool to get the two sides talking," said OPSEULocal 237 President Lana-Lee Hardacre, adding that faculty hasonly gone on strikethree times in the past 30 years.

"If we cannot get a negotiated settlement, we will strike," she said. "If they come back to the table and there is movement and there is some collegial discussion, then of course there would be no strike."

Hardacresaid the union is asking for the following changes to the existing contract:

• The addition of a senate, made up of faculty members and students,to the governing structure of the college, which would have some control over academic decisions.
• That the ratioof full-time and contract staff be split 50/50. Currently, only 33 per cent of faculty at Conestoga College are full-time, according to Hardacre.
• Better job security for contract staff working 9 to 12 hours, otherwise known as partial-load faculty, including full-year contracts, guaranteed benefits, and limits on their daily workload.
• Academic control in the classroom for teachers and professors, including the right to choose course material, the right to choose the form of an assignment (i.e. essay vs. quiz, etc.), full control over student evaluations without interference.
• Some intellectual property rights for course material published online.
• Equal pay for equal work: in other words, that partial-loadstaff be paid the same for the work they put into a course as full-time faculty.

Hardacresaid the union set the Oct. 16 strike deadline because the college council the body negotiating on behalf of Ontario colleges was not willing to compromise on these issues.

"It was very frustrating for our side, because what was happening was [we] were offering alternatives, or different ways to look at the issues, but the other side was still not interested. They wanted to do their agenda only."