College faculty ready to bargain as employer returns to table

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - The union bargaining team for Ontario public college faculty is interested in what the College Employer Council has to say and ready to bargain when contract talks resume tomorrow, team chair JP Hornick says.

"College faculty are taking a stand for a better college education system," she said. "We are ready, as we have been from the start, to bargain a fair contract that addresses the issues of good jobs and quality education."

The mediator in the talks has called the parties back together to meet Thursday, November 2 for the first time since the strike by 12,000 faculty began October 16.

"This strike has highlighted the problems that come when an employer uses precarious work as a tool to cut costs," said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. "When faculty aren't treated fairly, education suffers, and OPSEU members have stayed strong on the picket lines because they want colleges that are better for faculty and students alike."

A rally planned for November 2 at Queen's Park, with faculty coming in from across the province, will go ahead as planned.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)