Updated: April 27, 2023
The College Employer Council has created a bi-annual update on the status of bargaining and implementation of Collective Agreements across the bargaining units.Read the April 2023 Bargaining Bulletin.
Updated: September 30, 2022
Support Staff Negotiations Update
College Employer Council (CEC) has announced that OPSEU full-time support staff employees voted in favour of ratifying a new collective agreement. Through a ratification vote, 80 per cent of membervoted in support of the new three-year agreement. For more information, visit theCEC website.
Updated: September 23, 2022
Academic Labour Negotiations Update
The College Employer Council (CEC) has issued a news release announcing that the collective agreement has been finalized for Ontario public college academic employees. The CEC and OPSEU faculty awarded a new three-year deal through arbitration. For more information, visit theCEC website.
Updated: March 24, 2022
Academic Labour Negotiations Update
Management Bargaining Update March 24, 2022
Unconditional interest mediation-arbitration between the CEC and OPSEU academic employees has now begun. Arbitrator Kaplan has imposed a media blackout. We will not be commenting further on the mediation-arbitration until Arbitrator Kaplan lifts the blackout.
Updated: March 17, 2022, 11:38 p.m.
Academic Labour Negotiations Update
The College Employer Council (CEC) has issued the following message:
STRIKE AVERTED: Colleges and OPSEU Agree to Unconditional Interest Arbitration
今天大学雇主协会和OPSEUcademic employees bargaining team representing full-time and part-time faculty, instructors, librarians, and counsellors met at the virtual bargaining table with a Ministry of Labour appointed Mediator.
On Thursday evening, the parties issued the following joint statement:
The CEC and OPSEU/SEFPO have reached an agreement to enter binding interest arbitration and the strike that was scheduled to commence at 12:01 am on March 18, 2022, is called off. This also includes all work-to-rule strike activities.
“We are pleased to advise that after 12 hours at the bargaining table, the parties have agreed to unconditional interest arbitration on both parties’ outstanding issues. Hearing dates mutually convenient to the parties will be scheduled soon,” said Dr. Laurie Rancourt, Chair of the Management bargaining team. “We remain committed to putting students and their education first”.
There will be no strike at any of the 24 Ontario Public Colleges. The parties have reached an agreement to enter binding interest arbitration and the strike that was scheduled to commence at 12:01 am on March 18, 2022, is called off. College programs will continue normal operations and program delivery.
“In order to avoid any disruption to students, we were prepared to proceed, immediately and unconditionally, to binding interest arbitration before William Kaplan on all of the outstanding issues,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of the CEC. “After all that students, faculty and the College community have been through over the past two years, we felt it was essential that we put our differences aside and conclude these negotiations without a strike.”
Read the College Employer Council’s Updates
Read the mediator's report
STATUS UPDATE – ACADEMIC BARGAINING UNIT
- The academic bargaining unit represents full-time and partial-load college academics - teachers, counsellors and librarians.
- In February and March 2021, academic local demand-setting meetings took place at Ontario colleges where faculty were invited to submit specific changes to the Collective Agreement.
- In April 2021, delegates from the 24 Ontario colleges met to rank and vote on demands put forward by the locals.
- The bargaining team was announced in June by the CEC.
- Collective bargaining started in July 2021 – when union and management bargaining teams started to meet regarding the terms of the Collective Agreement.
- As of September 21, 2021, bargaining conversations are on hold as mediation efforts are investigated.
- On September 28, 2021, both parties entered mediation led by Mediator M. Brian Keller. (Faculty’s Collective Agreement expired on September 30, 2021.)
- On October 28, 2021, Mediator Keller terminated mediation.
- On November 11, 2021, the OPSEU CAAT-A team rejected the Conciliator’s request to maintain a communications blackout
- On November 18, 2021, a No Board Report was issued.
- On November 19, 2021, OPSEU started the process to hold a strike vote.
- The strike vote was held from December 9 to 11, 2021. OPSEU’s members voted 59 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
UPDATE - PART-TIME SUPPORT STAFF RATIFY COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
- In August 2021, George Brown’s Part-Time Support Staff, along with Part-Time Support Staff from all 24 colleges in Ontario, ratified a new three-year collective agreement. This agreement was achieved through bargaining over the course of two days at the virtual table and was ratified with 89.4 per cent of votes being in favour.
- The part-time support staff bargaining unit represents individuals who work 24 hours per week or less in positions such as office, clerical, technical, health care, maintenance, building service, shipping, transportation, cafeteria, and nursery staff.
