‘Plenty of time’

Teachers at Confederation College could be on strike by next week unless their union and the province’s 24 colleges reach an agreement.

A strike date, set for Feb.11, would see the local college’s 160 full-time OPSEU faculty walk out. Local faculty president Kaia Beaudry said the date still gives the colleges and union plenty of time to reach an agreement.

She said the union has also announced that they are willing to enter into binding arbitration to settle a contract, which college teachers have been without since Aug. 31.

"That (strike deadline) still gives plenty of time for the sides to bargain a negotiated collective agreement and we’re hoping that that happens," said Beaudry. " We have also proposed that we are willing to go to binding arbitration for any unresolved issues in order to avert a strike."

Beaudry said the union received a strike mandate from its members in the middle of November after the colleges imposed new terms and conditions of employment rather than continuing to negotiate.

While the provincial average was 57 per cent in favour of a strike, Beaudry said her local members voted 68 per cent in favour.

She said the imposition made matters worse between the union and employers. She said she hopes the colleges agree to binding arbitration to avoid a strike.

"We do care about our students a lot. We don’t want to disrupt their lives with a strike," Beaudry said.