Negotiations stalled

Richard Belleau said he’d rather be at the bargaining table than making a speech at the annual Labour Day picnic in Thunder Bay.

But with talks broken off between the province and the bargaining unit for striking support staff at community colleges across Ontario, Belleau said he’s left with little choice but to provide moral support to his members.

“We were prepared to stay at the table and we’d indicated to the employer that we will meet with them anywhere, anytime, anyplace and that we’re prepared to bargain,” said Belleau, president of local 731 of the Ontario Public Sector Employee Union.

“We were at the table last Wednesday when the employer pulled away from the table at 10:30 p.m. while we believed we still had time to negotiate a collective agreement.”

Union members, who work in a variety of roles at Ontario colleges, including the admissions department, walked off the job at midnight on Sept. 1.

Belleau said there has been no formal contact between the union and the province since that time, and he has no idea when workers, fighting for wages, benefits and job security, will be back at the negotiating table.

“We’re waiting and we’re ready, the union is,” he said.

Classes are scheduled to begin Tuesday at Thunder Bay’s Confederation College, but Belleau said there are no plans to ramp up strike activity as students return to school.

“Our lines will remain strong. They are strong across our college here in Thunder Bay and across the province,” he said. “I believe there’s almost 100 sites, campuses across the province that are being picketed. Obviously there are 24 major campuses across the province.”

Melanie Kelso, president of the Thunder Bay and District Labour Council, said it’s a shame two major unions have to be on strike over the Labour Day weekend.

Last Monday 14 Northern Lights Credit Union workers hit the picket line looking for a new contract nearly nine months after their last one expired.

Kelso said there’s never a good time to be off the job and on strike.

“A lot of it is the employers do not want to negotiate with the unions. So they’re on strike. But this is Labour Day, so we’re here to reflect on the good things we’ve acquired in the past year and our successes, and what we can do tomorrow to make it a better place to live in Canada.”

Kelso agreed with college worker complaints that the province is trying to cut full-time positions and the corresponding benefits in favour of part-time work.

“From what I understand, in most sectors, that’s what employers want. They want a lot more flexibility, they want contract workers, they want temporary workers. They don’t want permanent staff,” she said.

“As a worker (then), you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring and you have no benefits and you have less rights than if you’re in a permanent position in a union.”