Full-time and partial-load professors, instructors, librarians and counsellors at Ontario’s colleges voted in favour of labour action, which could start as early as Saturday.
On Saturday, the CAAT-A bargaining was handed a strike mandate, and on Sunday the CAAT-A bargaining team formally provided notice for all labour action to start as early as Dec. 18.
Should the strike go ahead, it will represent the second labour dispute to bring faculty to the picket line in the last four years.
The College Employer Council (CEC) is the government-mandated bargaining agent for the 24 Ontario publicly-funded Colleges, including Conestoga College in Guelph.
OPSEU, the union representing faculty, said 59.4 per cent voted in favour of a strike.
Only 68 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballot.
The strike vote demonstrates that approximately 40 per cent of faculty voiced their support for a strike.
An email from Abby Radovski, director of communications at the College Employer Council attributed a quote to Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC which said: "We believe that employees have waited long enough to receive wage increases and benefit enhancements. Introducing these improvements does not prohibit further negotiation. We will be introducing the terms and conditions as promised last week,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC.
