Academic Bargaining Ontario’s 24 colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union CAAT-A (OPSEU), which represents full-time and partial-load academic faculty, librarians and counsellors at all 24 Ontario colleges, are negotiating a new collective agreement. As one of these colleges, Durham College does not negotiate directly with its unionized employees. Instead, the College Employer Council (CEC) serves as the bargaining agent for all Ontario colleges, as mandated by the province. On January 7, the CEC and OPSEU reached an agreement to enter into binding arbitration. This process involves a neutral third party resolving the dispute between the two sides. As a result, classes, activities, and events will continue as scheduled, and no strike action will take place. What You Need to Know College business continues as usual. All classes, activities and events remain unaffected. Durham College will continue to communicate how any action related to academic bargaining impacts students, employees and community members. Questions and Answers What is arbitration? Arbitration is the process of having an independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute on the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of the collective agreement. In arbitration, both parties submit unresolved proposals to a mutually agreed upon arbitrator. The arbitrator will first try to mediate and have the parties come to a mutual agreement on outstanding proposals. If the parties are unable to reach a conclusion, the arbitrator will step in and issue a ruling. Will there be a strike on January 9? No. On January 7, Ontario’s 24 colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), representing full-time and partial-load academic faculty, librarians, and counsellors, reached an agreement to enter into binding arbitration. This process involves a neutral third party resolving the dispute between the two sides. As a result, classes, activities, and events will continue as scheduled, with no strike action taking place. Should I continue to go to class? Yes, classes continue as scheduled. Where can I learn more about negotiations and strike action? College Employer Council OPSEU
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